Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine's Mahuchikh urges Russian athletes to speak up against war

The 22-year-old high jumper, who fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion of her country, won the women's Olympic high jump in Paris on Sunday.

Last month she broke a 37-year-old world record, jumping 2.10 metres.

Speaking to AFP at Ukraine's Olympic hub in northern Paris, Mahuchikh said she was disappointed that Russian athletes competing in Paris under a neutral status did not speak up against the invasion.

"They did not say anything against this war," she said in English, adding she did not know "how it's possible to compete" at the Olympics without speaking up.

"Olympic Games are about peace."

Athletes from Russia and ally Belarus were banned from world sport following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The tiny squad of 15 neutral athletes representing Russia in Paris, many of whom train abroad, have largely sought to keep a low profile.

On Sunday, Russian tennis player Diana Shnaider, 20, refused to speak about politics.

"I am here to talk about tennis," Shnaider told reporters after winning a silver medal.

Mahuchikh said it was "terrible" that Russia has made a mockery of the idea of an Olympic truce and pressed ahead with the invasion, now in its third year.

"It's not possible to compete with terrorists," she said.

She also accused Western officials of "double standards", saying they expressed "solidarity with us" and at the same time allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.

In order to compete as neutrals in Paris, international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) verified that the competitors did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with their countries' armies.

They were not allowed to take part in the opening ceremony or compete under their national flags and their achievements are not recognised in the medals table.

However Global Rights Compliance, a Hague-based human rights foundation, said last month two thirds of the Russian athletes approved by the IOC to compete as neutrals have expressed support for Moscow's invasion or have links to the military.

- 'Great future' -

Mahuchikh received a hero's welcome at Ukraine House in Paris and was feted at home.

"Yaroslava the Great," exclaimed Ukrainska Pravda media outlet.

Mahuchikh said she was so excited she could not sleep last night.

"I am an Olympic champion!" she said.

Asked about her plans, she said she hoped to compete until her late 30s.

"I think I have a great future in competition," she laughed, saying she wanted to beat her own record.

"There's always room for improvement," she said. "The next step is 2.11, 2.12."

The athlete dedicated her Olympic high jump gold medal to the nearly 500 athletes and coaches who have been killed since the full-scale invasion.

The photogenic athlete has posed for Vogue Ukraine and took part in a New York Fashion Week show two years ago.

"It was amazing and fantastic," she said, though adding she preferred the track to the catwalk.

"I like this feeling," she said of the sport of high jump. "I imagine that I am a bird and I can fly."

M.Qasim--SF-PST