![Amid shelling and blackouts, this is how Ukrainian athletes have been preparing for the Olympics](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/6-20240712185914122.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill)
Amid shelling and blackouts, this is how Ukrainian athletes have been preparing for the Olympics
CNN
The memory of Russia invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is lodged in Ukrainian Olympic diver Anna Pysmenska’s mind.
The memory of Russia invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is lodged in Ukrainian Olympic diver Anna Pysmenska’s mind. “When the invasion happened at 4 a.m., I was so shocked and didn’t know what to do, so at 7 a.m., I went to the swimming pool to train,” the 33-year-old told CNN Sport. “It was very scary.” One of nine Ukrainian divers who will participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, Pysmenska isn’t scared anymore; she says she’s angry and ready to fight – in sporting competition – for her country. For the first time in 12 years, Ukraine will be represented in all the synchronized disciplines of high dive and the 3-meter springboard, for both men and women. “We live under constant pressure,” said Psymenska, who will be competing at her third Olympics. “During the day, we spend all our energy preparing for the Games. But at night, we wake up either from explosions or from the sound of sirens. It’s a lot of stress.” Anna was born in central Ukraine but later moved to live and train in the eastern city of Luhansk. She left in 2014 when Russian forces occupied that territory.