San Francisco Frontiers - Ukrainian Paralympians defiant despite war's impact

Ordinarily Chufarov, fellow swimmer Mykhailo Serbin -- only 20 but already a Paralympics gold medallist -- and 2016 Paralympic fencing champion Andrii Demchuk would be spearheading Ukraine's bid to emulate their third place in the medals' table eight years ago.

However, these are extraordinary times where even training normally is a challenge.

Chufarov, 34, eventually escaped with his wife Yaryna from the city of Mariupol before it was taken by the Russians, but it came at a high personal cost: "Our house was destroyed in fire, as well as the house where I grew up," he said.

Chufarov and Serbin have remained in Ukraine while Demchuk says he has "less time to train" but has accepted an invitation from a club in Warsaw and the Polish national team too.

Chufarov rediscovered his old form -- he won a silver and bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics -- to dominate in the worlds at Manchester last year.

However, he says the memories of what he experienced in Mariupol remain with him.

He and his wife "repeatedly came under artillery shelling, and also found ourselves in buildings hit by various types of weaponry."

"The main goal of each new day was to stay alive," he told AFP.

"That period had a massive impact on our health.

"It was associated not only with stress and constant psychological overload but also with insufficient sleep, little food, and a lack of drinking water.

"During that time, all thoughts were focused solely on survival.

"Those who managed to survive became different people, and this cannot be changed."

Chufarov did not train for nearly six months after he escaped from Mariupol because "it seemed to have no signficance" -- and even when he did return to the pool the war was never far away.

"Air raid sirens and frequent missile attacks at certain periods made it impossible to attend the pool and gym," he said.

- Staying put -

Serbin too experienced "10 days of constant shelling" in Kharkiv before leaving for another city but he and his coach struck a defiant note, deciding to stay in Ukraine.

"My coach and I were of the same mind: 'We stay, we work, and we win, no matter what,'" he told AFP.

"So I don't regret staying in Ukraine.

"Maybe it's a kind of internal protest against leaving my home and fleeing without knowing where, like many people do.

"Who can know what will be there, what trials await us? Home is always better."

- 'The reality of life' -

Serbin -- who is also a double world champion -- says his family fully supported him as "they did not want me to give up the cause of my whole life."

However, by staying his training has been regularly interrupted.

"Recently, we arrived for training and at that moment, a rocket attack on the city began," he said.

"We had to descend into the bomb shelter and wait there for the end of the shelling.

A few days later the shelling started before he left home "and I did not know if I could come to training on time".

He says such violent disruption to his training routine has become "the reality of life."

Demchuk has made his own contribution to the war effort by visiting soldiers left maimed by Russian attacks.

"For me, it was primarily about communication, and I tried to make soldiers trust me and talk to me about amputation, prosthetics, sports, and my teaching at the university," he told AFP.

"In my opinion, the biggest problem is that soldiers who have lost limbs must understand how to live on and that life is possible and almost problem-free."

Demchuk's immediate goal is next month's European Championships in France where a medal would mean even more than usual.

"The war adds an additional emotional context," said the 36-year-old.

"Every medal almost always comes with tears in my eyes because you understand that many of your relatives and friends will not see this victory and will not be able to celebrate with you.

"You understand that any victory is important for Ukraine now, both on the front lines and here in our sports sphere."

A.Clark--SFF