At the award ceremony, Alexander again distanced himself from the Russian, clearly explaining his position
Ukrainian swimmer Alexander Komarov commented on his victory in the 100m freestyle in the S5 class at Paralympic Games 2024.
“I’ve been swimming for over 15 years now – maybe? In the end, experience helped me. I saw that I won very little from the second place [китайца Циньчжан Гуо]but this is the first gold award for Ukraine in Paris. I am very proud of this and thank our Armed Forces, all Ukrainians who fight every day against the Russian invasion. Ukraine always wins, although this path is very difficult. But everything will be Ukraine, and we will win.”
Moreover, during the award ceremony, the Ukrainian again distanced himself from the “neutral” (Russian) athlete Kirill Pulver. Komarov’s position on this matter is uncompromising:
“A podium with a “neutral” swimmer? On the podium I knew that our Ukrainian anthem would be played and I felt confident, it was a feeling of pride. I am from Mariupol, I lived through hard times under the bombings [в городе]. All my previous awards burned in Mariupol, and I have a very negative attitude towards the Russians, because although they act as if they were “neutral”, they support the war and rejoice at the deaths of Ukrainian people. And that is why I cannot be near these people.”
Let us recall that today Oleksandr brought the first gold medal to the Ukrainian team at the 2024 Paralympics. The Ukrainian also broke the Paralympic record for this distance, which had been held since 2012. The Chinese Qinzhang Guo was only slightly behind him, Pulver came in third.
This medal is not the first for Komarov at the Paris Games. Earlier, he won bronze in the 200-meter freestyle swim in the S5 class. Then he also had to share the podium with Pulver, and Komarov did the same – he moved away from the “neutral” athlete.
The 2024 Paralympics are taking place in Paris from August 28 to September 8. The Ukrainian team is represented at the Games by 140 athletes. Ukrainians are competing in 17 of the 22 Paralympic sports – a record in the history of our country.
Source: Sportarena
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