00:00 It may look punishing, but this is just a light training session in Irpin near Kiev
00:07 for freestyle wrestler Irina Koliadenko.
00:13 Her sparring partner, her younger sister Vika.
00:18 Despite the playful session today, the war is impossible to ignore.
00:22 Yesterday I woke up and there was horror all around.
00:27 All the cities were bombed and it was impossible to sleep all night.
00:30 You need to either hide in the bathroom or go down to the basement.
00:34 It's mentally and physically difficult.
00:36 Things were even worse when the war started.
00:39 Here in Irpin, which the Russians partially occupied, this, her regular gym, was damaged
00:44 by shelling.
00:47 The war affected everything around here.
00:51 This stadium in Irpin is called Champion.
00:56 Everything's left here.
01:00 We trained here and also there.
01:05 A nearby village.
01:07 This is where Irina and her sister fled to an aunt's apartment when the Russians invaded.
01:12 The family hid in this basement for more than 10 days, in freezing temperatures and without
01:18 heating or water.
01:20 They managed to avoid the Russians, but it took a toll.
01:28 It's all accumulated.
01:29 And at some point I had a psychological breakdown.
01:35 I wanted to end my sports career.
01:39 I didn't want to train.
01:41 I didn't even want to live.
01:42 I didn't want anything at all.
01:48 After a while, she returned to wrestling, helped by her coach and by doctors.
01:54 Matvei Bidni used to be a wrestler too.
01:58 Now he's Ukraine's sports minister.
02:00 He says many of his country's athletes have been killed, mobilized or forced to train
02:05 abroad.
02:06 He tells us he doesn't want to see Russians at the Paris Olympics, not even under a neutral
02:11 flag.
02:12 The slogan "Sports is outside of politics" is outdated.
02:19 This is an idealistic picture.
02:22 The state always invests in Olympic sports.
02:27 These athletes are training with Russian money, soaked in blood.
02:32 And they will be used for Russian propaganda.
02:38 Irina knows she could face Russian opponents in Paris.
02:42 And worrying about her family at home.
02:45 But the more immediate concern is whether the next air raid alert could disrupt training
02:49 and where the next Russian missile could land.
02:52 For an athlete, the most important thing is to be able to train regularly in order to
02:58 achieve success.
03:00 If regularity is lost, then form and motivation are lost and uncertainty arises.
03:06 Irina's fight is not just on the mat.
03:12 She is fighting a constant battle to tune out the war and focus on her sport.
03:16 (upbeat music)
Comments