{"id":596016,"date":"2024-09-06T07:21:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T14:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=596016"},"modified":"2024-09-06T08:31:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T15:31:47","slug":"paralympics-despite-challenges-in-war-torn-home-ukraine-still-shining-in-the-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/paralympics-despite-challenges-in-war-torn-home-ukraine-still-shining-in-the-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"Paralympics: Despite Challenges in War-Torn Home, Ukraine Still Shining in the Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paralympics: Despite Challenges in War-Torn Home, Ukraine Still Shining in the Pool<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seven days of swimming competition had transpired at the Paris Paralympics, and the country atop the medal standings continued to astound.<\/p>\n

It was not China, with its massive population, that has collected the most medals at the Paris La Defense Arena through Wednesday\u2019s competition. It was not the United States. It is not some old European power like Italy or Great Britain.<\/p>\n

No, the most medals won through seven days of the Paris Paralympics had been taken home by Ukraine. The country with a population smaller than California\u2019s, with a population about half that of China\u2019s Hebei province, that has for the last two and a half years fought against an invasion from Russia. Long a power in Paralympic swimming, Ukraine has sustained its excellence despite the massive challenges befalling the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can say is that everyone in the Ukrainian team is working with all they have got,\u201d said Yurii Shenhur<\/strong>, winner of the men\u2019s S7 100 backstroke. \u201cMaybe that is the key. I am really thankful for the last couple of years that we got a place where we can train because the war, it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n