‘Like a poison for the body’: Amid war and grief, Ukrainian athletes strive for a spot on the Olympic team

Kateryna Tabashnyk, who lost her mother in a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv two years ago, was among those hoping to make Ukraine’s team for the Paris Olympics.

Kateryna Tabashnyk couldn’t hold back her tears – not necessarily because her attempt to qualify for her first Olympics had fallen short, but because she was now reflecting on all the grief and pain of the past two-and-a-half years. The 30-year-old high jumper cleared 1.89 meters at the Ukrainian Athletics Championships on Sunday, not enough to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. But the fact that she had even come so close was a testament to her remarkable willpower and perseverance. Tabashnyk’s mother was killed in a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv two years ago. She had stayed in the eastern city to help her young nephew, who was seriously injured in an earlier attack by Russian forces. Tabashnyk decided to return to competition a month later, viewing sport as a means to honor her mother’s life even in the depths of grief. “Of course, it affects people and, of course, me – the loss of my home, the loss of my dear mother, the loss of friends,” she told CNN. “All this takes strength, takes energy. It’s like a poison for the body.” “We have to prepare to compete and show results against this background. Of course, it’s very hard, it’s very difficult, but to be honest, I don’t know where I’ve been getting this energy, this strength for the last two years. It’s something incredible, even for me.”