Following Diana Varinska’s retirement announcement, another Ukrainian WAG star of the last few years Anastasia Bachynska announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics:
“I’ve been thinking for a long time how to tell you that… So, here it goes, I am done with elite sports. I am retiring because of my [physical] health, mental, and emotional state, and there are other things. It’s hard for me to write this but it’s necessary and that’s how it is. But I’m [still] with you! Thanks to everyone who supported me and who was by my side, with whom I was on this difficult journey. These were the brightest moments of my life! Thank you everyone!”
Bachynska’s announcement comes as more surprising, since unlike Varinska, she kept training throughout the 2021 and seemed to be on the rise. At the 2021 Worlds, she placed 10th in the all-around and made the floor final. Earlier that year she won bronze on beam at the European Championships. In the beginning of 2022, Bachynska wrote on her Instagram: “I’m starting to train and gain moment for this year”, and she clearly meant to keep training. She was originally on the roster for the Cairo World Cup but was unable to attend after the war started. She left the national team training center in Koncha-Zaspa (near Kyiv) and fled Ukraine with her mother and siblings to France. The club that gave her shelter also provided training facilities and Bachynska hoped to continue elite training there, just as her teammate Valeria Osipova. However, she did not compete in the Top 12 competitions with the club team or any international competitions for Ukraine.
