david ramiro
Sports Writing, March 8. Anna Ryzhykova is one of the best Ukrainian athletes of recent years. His track record proves it. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 affected many sportsmen and had to find a way to continue to exercise their professional activity, with the emotional cost that this entails, far from their land while in their minds they remain in the dispute.
Ryzhykova (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine; 1989) specializes in speed testing. At the 2012 London Olympics, he won bronze in the 4×400 relay. That same year, he won the first silver medal in the 400 hurdles at the European Championship in Helsinki, the same metal he achieved in Zurich 2014 and Berlin 2018. Last year, while the Ukraine was embroiled in armed conflict with Russia, winning bronze in the 400 hurdles. to Europe from Munich.
The Ukrainian athlete is one of the beneficiaries of the World Athletics Association’s so-called “Solidarity Fund” with Ukraine, with which World Athletics has helped many Ukrainian athletes and their entourages, including members directly from their families, coaches and technical officials.
Last year, the World Athletics Association distributed more than $220,000 to more than 100 Ukrainian athletes to help them train so they could qualify and compete in the World Cup in Eugene (USA).
Of all the beneficiary athletes, seventy percent were women. With the #WeGrowAthletics campaign for 2023, World Athletics promised to renew the initiative and again allocate a good amount of money to this project.
“You can’t even imagine how important the solidarity fund has been to us. I hope no one ever feels that desperation when you have to forget about your career and only think about how your family will survive and how you will survive. This Solidarity Fund saved the careers of our athletes and gave us the opportunity to fight for our country in our own way,” Ryzhykova said in a telematics conversation.
“Ukraine has 40 million people and Russia 140 million. To stand up to such a big country, every Ukrainian has stood up to defend our homeland. Ukrainian women have played and continue to play a huge role here, which did not step aside, but immediately took leadership positions. . Many went to the army, others became volunteers, and each in his profession took a leadership position aimed at helping Ukraine in various fields. This is also the case with sport,” he said.
“70% of fund recipients are female athletes. While men are fighting on the front line, we are doing our best to help them. By participating in competitions, we are not letting the world forget the existence of the Ukraine We get attention “With our achievements, we give interviews, we communicate with other athletes and fans so that people can see firsthand what is happening in the country. This is how we resist Russian propaganda and do not allow Ukraine’s honor to be tarnished,” he stressed.
“By raising the flag in competitions, we show the world that we are strong and honest, capable of fighting and overcoming difficulties no matter what. We deserve to live and preserve our nation, but now we need help and support,” he said.
“Training opportunities in Ukraine are limited, sports bases have been destroyed, there are constant threats of rocket attacks and we live in fear. The training camp before the World Cups in Oregon last year gave us the opportunity to recover, calm down, feel like normal athletes and prepare well for the competition”, commented Ryzhykova, who acknowledged that one of the aspects that suffers the most in a situation like this is morale.
“Mental health is hard to recover and we won’t be able to recover until the war is over. No matter how far I am from Ukraine, I still cry and worry about the tragic events that happen in Ukraine every day. days,” he said. .
“It is difficult to live with the death of friends and family, the destruction of our homes and forced relocations. We are fighting and a living example of this is Katerina Tabashnik (high jump bronze medalist at the last track Indoor European Championship in Istanbul) He won a medal and dedicated it to his mother, who was killed by the Russians this summer,” he said.
Anna intends to run for an administrative position within the international athletics organization over the next few years. The first step is to have been elected, last summer, member of the Athletes’ Commission of the World Athletics Association, an entity which, through its “eLearning” platform, provides women with the training and skills they need to achieve their goals, while being flexible enough to accommodate your lifestyle and family commitments.
The objective of the World Athletics Board of Directors is that by 2027 there will be parity, half and half, among all its members.
Anna Ryzhykova trains in the United States with her trainer Volodymyr Kravchenko and with her partner Anastasia Brizhyna.
“In athletics, you have to emphasize the importance of equality. It’s the most accessible sport for women because we have the same number of events, the same amount of prize money and the fans love male and female athletes from the same way. the same can be said for other sports”, confesses Anna.
“It is very good that Athletics is promoting these projects and continuing to take steps towards equality in leadership positions. I believe that in 2027 we will have 50% female representation on the World Athletics Council and it will be a great opportunity for women because we want to grow in our sport and we thank the World Association of Athletics for helping us achieve this,” he concluded.
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