The Invictus games will begin in Vancouver and Whistler on Saturday, and of the more than 20 participating nations, there are little doubt of competing means more for the only country currently at war.
The multisport tournament attracts athletes who are injured, injured or sick military service personnel, both in service and veterans.
Some of those athletes, such as Illia Haiduk, come from Ukraine, which has been in the active war since Russia's invasion in 2022.
“It's very good for me,” Haiduk said about games.
“I just don't feel that I am injured, as if I had some problems. I just live my life as I did before. It is a great project, this Invictus. “
Haiduk, who walks with a prosthesis after amputating the leg, is competing in skiing, skeleton, rowing and wheelchair basketball.
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It is far from your previous life.
The 34 -year -old man served as a police officer for more than six years before the war, when he decided to register in the military to defend his country.
In the army, it served as a battle drones, flying to UAV armed with up to a kilogram of explosives against enemy troops and tanks, and climbing to the unit commander range.
All that changed in October 2023, while it was far from the front line.
“I was injured during a ceremony that brought together many soldiers, men and women who had performed their duties, courage and dedication to protect our country,” he said.
“An enemy drone saw military units there … When they saw us, they sent an Iskander missile … Many of my brothers died this day.”
Haiduk lost part of his leg in the shrapnel in the attack and faced a long recovery later.
“More than eight months had no prosthesis. It was like operations perhaps every month, ”he said.
But during his recovery, he began to enter athletics.
It was there that he took advantage of a community of veterans who, according to him, helped him immeasurable.
“When you are training with other types that have such injuries, which have the same problems, it is very motivating,” he said.
Now, in Canada for the first time, he says he is excited to represent his country and explore the land.
“The maximum I like is skiing. I am so in love with this sport. The skiing downhill in a ski and one leg and two stabilizers, ”he said.
“Such large hills, good weather, large mountains. It is very beautiful. “
Team Ukraine has 24 athletes in this year's games, which have attracted more than 500 participants around the world.
“I stay here because I survived,” Haiduk said. “But I have a responsibility with those who have their stories but I can't speak today.”
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