Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – As synchronized swimmers, Vladyslava and Maryna Aleksiiva are accustomed to always needing to grin.
After taking home a bronze in artistic swimming from the Tokyo Games three years prior, the sunny sisters represent one of Ukraine’s best chances of capturing a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old twins’ fortitude has been put to the test, though, as they have had to escape their homes, endure shelling, and spend the night in bomb shelters.
According to Maryna, AFP, they were forced to leap out of the pool and “run to the basement in wet swimsuits” when the explosions became too close.
The girls had to leave their glittery costumes behind when they were evacuated during the invasion nearly two years ago when Russian tanks were stopped in the suburbs of their hometown of Kharkiv.
They have returned to Kharkiv to get ready for the Games despite the frequent shelling, despite the fact that the windows of their training pool are still shattered from the missile assaults that the border city is frequently hit by.
Even though the Russian troops were ultimately driven back by the Ukrainian army, Kharkiv remains vulnerable because it is barely 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border. The most recent round of Russian missile attacks on the city claimed the lives of eleven individuals last week.
It’s not exactly the perfect setting for world-class swimmers to chase gold, particularly since there’s no generator to warm the water in the event of a power outage, which happened frequently last year after the nation’s electrical grid took a beating from the Russians.
slumbering in bomb shelters
The sisters’ stormy journey to Paris, which has seen them travel from Kharkiv to Italy, France, Poland, Spain, Japan, and back, has been covered by AFP.
The more reserved of the two, Vladyslava frequently lets her twin Maryna complete her sentences. “When the war started, we did not know what to do,” she remarked.
“But then we understood our main goal could be to show courage all over the world in competitions.”
Maryna said, “To demonstrate that Ukraine is still alive.” “We must show strength.”
Early in the conflict, the sisters and the rest of Ukraine’s artistic swimming team left Kharkiv when the Russians threatened to occupy the city. They spent six months training in Italy.
However, they were adamant about returning to Kharkiv after training in Kyiv and “sleeping at night in the corridor of a bomb shelter” in order to be nearer to their parents.
With the exception of brief visits outside to compete, they have not left their hometown, which is the center of Ukraine’s artistic swimming scene, since then.
“It’s much better to be together, (even) without electricity and music to train,” Vladyslava told AFP in May, during a break in the World Aquatics World Cup in France, where they won the gold medal in the duet competition, despite the fact that it may be riskier.
To celebrate, they went to the old center of Montpellier, where they ate ice cream and shared stories on Instagram.
But the war was never far away, even in those carefree moments when they laughed about the pleasures of having power.
Maryna recalled the incident, saying, “I called Mum yesterday, but I was a little bit nervous.” “Mom and Dad assured me that everything would be well. We so made an effort to remain composed and focus on our competition.”
The twins struck an even more somber note when we ran with them again in July at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
“When you are away from your family and your country is at war, it can be difficult to concentrate,” Vladyslava said.
Friends slaughtered each other
“We have friends who are sportsmen who died on the battlefield defending our country… it is an awful time for us.”
Even though Maryna’s flat is on the top floor and more vulnerable to shelling, they did not even flinch when the air raid siren went off when they were back on their sofa in Kharkiv on a rare day off in November.
She stated that the sirens sound “five or six times every day”. “Even at night. It’s typical.”
They check the news every morning to see whether it’s safe to train, only visiting the bomb shelter when conditions are extremely threatening.
Blessedly, Vladyslava and her spouse, an IT professional, reside next door, which comes in useful since “we always swap clothes, handbags, jackets, and shoes,” as Maryna put it.
The sisters, who do not have to train at 6:30 am on Sundays, had a relaxed Sunday morning. Instead of wearing their thick warpaint for performances, they wore jeans and jumpers and minimal makeup.
They listened to an Edith Piaf record while lounging on the couch; their grandfather had a collection of vinyl records that included Pink Floyd and The Beatles.
Maryna’s bronze Olympic medal from Tokyo lay on a nearby table. Being “the most dear to me,” Vladyslava brought hers with her when they fled to Italy.
When their eight-year-old trainer, Maryna Krykunova, first saw them, she was a tall, attractive woman wearing a tweed coat. “I was sure that they would be stars,” she said.
She told AFP that even at that age, they were naturally in tune for duets, being tall and supple.
“We have to spend a lot of time making them similar” when it comes to girls who are not siblings, she said.
“With Maryna and Vlada, they are already twins so it’s much better.”
Twins and even triplets are surprisingly prevalent in artistic swimming.
fresh impediment
However, a contentious adjustment to the criteria for judging artistic swimming last year that moved the focus from artistic effect to more technical aspects may make what was once an advantage for the sisters less of an advantage.
The twins must overcome this challenge in order for their squad to be eligible for the July 26–08 Paris Olympics.
The change in the rules, according to Maryna, “has upset our coaches,” as it makes routines appear “very unartistic and awkward.”
“We have to exert every effort to ensure perfection,” declared Vladyslava.
The squad is preparing for the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade in June, which serve as a dress rehearsal for the Games the next month, by competing in the final qualifying rounds at the global championships in Qatar the following month. According to Vladyslava, “this is the most important time.
