Ukrainian gold medalist Oleksandr Khyzhniak gave a military salute to the crowd gathered to celebrate his return to the war-torn country. Paris Olympic Games.
As he got off the special Olympic Express train at kyiv’s central railway station, 29-year-old Khyzhniak greeted his fans, friends and family. The athlete from Poltava is also a serviceman of the Ukrainian border guard.
He is the first gold medalist from the 2024 Olympics to bring the award back to his home country.
“I sincerely dedicate this award to every Ukrainian, to everyone who helped and supported me, who stood by my side, who encouraged me all over the world,” Khyzhniak said upon arrival on Saturday.
Evgeny Maloletka / AP
In the men’s middleweight category, Khyzhniak beat Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan. Ukraine also won gold medals in women’s team fencing and women’s high jump.
One elated fan, 13-year-old Volodymyr Honchar, was brought to kyiv train station by his mother to greet his idol and have his boxing glove signed by the Olympic champion.
“His victory will boost the morale of all Ukrainians, will make us all feel good, will make us all stronger,” Honchar told The Associated Press.
Evgeny Maloletka / AP
The Khyzhnyak victory and other Ukrainian victories in Paris have boosted the morale of many Ukrainians in the two-and-a-half-year war with Russia. Troops are engaged in deadly fighting along the 1,000-kilometer-long border.
Khyzhniak’s native Poltava region, just 50 kilometers from Russia, is an area that has been a constant target of Russian air attacks.
“Every time I was competing or preparing for the competition, when I saw on my phone that an air raid alert was announced in the Poltava region, of course I was worried about Ukraine,” Khyzhniak said. “I was worried about my family and hoped that our army would protect us all.”
