Ukrainian Olympic Diver Sofiia Lyskun Switches Allegiance to Russia, Draw Condemnation
Olympic diver Sofiia Lyskun has switched her national allegiance from Ukraine to Russia, drawing condemnation in her home country.
The 23-year-old Lyskun competed at two Olympics for Ukraine. In an interview with a Russian newspaper, she cited coaching incompetence among the reasons for her defection.
“Most of our coaches are gymnasts or trampoline athletes. How can someone from a completely different field teach you anything? In recent years, I’ve realized in sports in Ukraine that I’m not growing,” Lyskun said.
One of Lyskun’s early coaches now is based in Moscow. Whether or not being in a state of war affected the quality of her coaching was not a question broached by a Russian state-approved media outlet.
The Ukrainian diving federation condemned the move, saying that it “selflessly fights every day for the right to represent our country on the international stage.” It said it will strip Lyskun of awards and will urge World Aquatics to restrict Lyskun’s ability to compete internationally.
Lyskun finished 25th in Paris in 2024 in the women’s 10-meter platform and seventh in women’s platform synchro. In Tokyo in 2021, she was 29th in women’s platform. The native of Luhansk won silver with Oleksiy Sereda in 10-meter mixed synchro at the 2022 World Championships. She’s a seven-time European Championships medalist, including the team title in 2018 and gold in women’s platform synchro in 2024 paired with Kseniia Bailo.
Luhansk has been a battleground since Russia’s first incursion into Ukraine in 2014. The city, Ukraine’s 12th-largest, is part of the Donbas region. It was seized by Russian separatists and made the capital of a separate republic, which was then further annexed by Russian when it declared a larger invasion of the country in 2022. The annexation of Luhansk and other regions in 2022 has been condemned as unlawful by the international community.