Editor
Other athletes have discovered their very own methods to contribute to the struggle effort. Wheelchair fencer Andrii Demchuk crossed the border to Poland along with his spouse and two kids after the invasion.
After settling his household in Warsaw, he started serving to different Ukrainian refugees. He ferried them from the border to the Polish capital, earlier than returning with tents, sleeping luggage and gear for the Ukrainian military.
He additionally delivered jeeps to the border – albeit in unconventional fashion. As a leg amputee, Demchuk usually drives an automated. The jeeps have been guide.
“It was a little bit of an issue as a result of I don’t have a leg to push the clutch,” he says.
So – ingeniously – he used his fencing sword as a substitute. “A damaged rapier can push the clutch completely,” he explains, demonstrating his method with an imaginary sword.
“I delivered seven jeeps this manner.”
Together with two Polish fencing pals, Grzegorz Pluta and Stefan Makowski, he additionally started visiting native faculties.
“We realised we wanted to deliver Polish and Ukrainian kids collectively,” Demchuk says.
“The Ukrainian children have been traumatised – and there have been some variations.”
They visited round 40 faculties – and talked to about 10,000 kids.
“We needed to point out the youngsters how sport can take your thoughts off your issues and that people who find themselves disabled don’t surrender and might nonetheless break obstacles.”
At this level, Demchuk realised that if he didn’t return to coaching, he wouldn’t qualify for the Paralympics, so Pluta and Makowski invited him to coach at their membership in Warsaw.
Most of Ukraine’s Para-fencers are in related circumstances, having needed to go away their homeland. Demchuk educated considered one of his team-mates – Nadiia Doloh – after her coach was unable to observe her to Poland.
Despite the disruption, Ukraine’s Para-fencing workforce completed high of the medal desk at this yr’s European Championships.
