"Young athletes in northern Ukraine spend their days cross-country skiing through a scorched forest, focused on their form until a siren inevitably shatters the silence. They respond swiftly but without panic, ditching their skis and following coaches to an underground bomb shelter. It's an ordinary training session at the complex that produced Ukraine's first Olympic medalist. Sleeping children no longer dream of Olympic glory in the facility's bombed-out dormitories, and unexploded ordnance has rendered nearby land off limits."
"We have adapted so well even the children that sometimes we don't even react, Mykola Vorchak, a 67-year-old coach, told The Associated Press in an interview on Oct. 31. Although it goes against safety rules, the children have been hardened by the war. Adapting to this has changed them psychologically. Sports in the crossfire War has taken a heavy toll on Ukrainian sport. Athletes were displaced or called up to fight."
Young athletes in northern Ukraine train for cross-country skiing and biathlon under wartime conditions, practicing through scorched forests while air raid sirens and drones interrupt sessions. Coaches lead children to underground bomb shelters during alerts, and damaged dormitories and unexploded ordnance limit nearby land. About 350 children and teens, including top national prospects, continue to train in fenced-off areas despite psychological hardening from repeated attacks. War has displaced athletes, called some to fight, closed or shuttered local facilities through attacks and blackouts, and capped spectator attendance at events by shelter capacity. A government-run ski base remains open for training.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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