By Richa Naidu
PARIS (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Taisiia Onofriichuk received her Olympic rhythmic gymnastics uniform on July 8, the same day Kyiv’s main children’s hospital was blasted by a Russian missile in the deadliest wave of air strikes for months.
The 16-year-old’s team leader said she did not know if they would even make it to Paris – let alone her coming fourth in the individual all-around qualifying round on Thursday.
“We didn’t know if we would even get here, because during the last attack before we left, we thought we wouldn’t survive,” Iryna Blokhina said.
Blokhina said the team had been barely able train because attacks prevented them from concentrating on the music, an essential component of rhythmic gymnastics, in which athletes perform manoeuvres while using hoops, balls, clubs or ribbons.
They moved to train where attacks were less frequent before driving to Vienna to fly to Paris, she said.
Despite the challenges, Onofriichuk, who started training when she was seven, turned in near-impeccable routines at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris to reach Friday’s final.
She performed her hoop routine to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, at times moon-walking and doing hand moves from the song’s video, delighting the fans and judges alike.
At one point, she flipped her hoop at least 9 metres in the air before catching it with her feet to the roar of the crowd, contributing to a final score of 135.75.
“This moment means a lot more to me than people can imagine,” Onofriichuk told Reuters, adding that she first fell in love with rhythmic gymnastics as a child after watching a tournament.
“I felt calm inside … I’m incredibly proud to be representing Ukraine right now, especially during war and the conditions that we’re training in, under bombs and under daily attacks.”
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Alison Williams)
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