PARIS– Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk came to Paris to support Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics amid war at home.
On Monday, he visited the Ukrainian House in Paris and from there watched the fencing competition in which Ukrainian Olga Kharlan won the bronze medal in the women’s individual saber, marking Ukraine’s first medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
“My personal wish was, and I probably knew, that Olga would be one of those people who would bring a medal to Ukraine,” Usyk told The Associated Press minutes after the Ukrainian fencer won the medal.
Usyk expressed hope that there would be more medals as the competitions continued. He emphasized that the presence of the Ukrainian team is significant considering daily missile attacks, damaged sports infrastructure and the Russian occupation of regions that were home to many athletes.
“We are in war. But our athletes still came,” he said. “They are fighting.”
On both arms he has tattoos of the Olympic rings. One of them is called “London 2012”, where he won the gold medal in the heavyweight category.
“We support all of our Olympic athletes who are here in Paris representing our country,” he said. “The more awards for us, the better.”
One of Ukraine’s most prominent athletes is boxer Oleksandr Khyzhniak, who lost the gold medal final in Tokyo and is now back to fight for it again at the 2024 Olympics.
“He has unfinished business that he has set for himself, which is Olympic gold,” Usyk said. “Alex is working on it.”
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