Oleg Verniaiev returns to the World Championships four years after his last appearance in 2019. This will be his first major international competition in four years. Verniaiev’s break from competitions was first due to the pandemic – when the European Championships and the Tokyo Olympics were postponed. He was set to compete at Euros in December 2020 but tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition testing. Originally suspended for four years, Verniaiev would have been ineligible to compete until fall of 2024 when he would be 31 years old, effectively missing not jus Tokyo but Paris Olympics as well. However, after a lengthy appeal process, his suspension was reduced to two years. Technically, he was already eligible to return to competition at the last European Championships but he was not yet ready to compete. His training was first interrupted by the pandemic, then by the suspension, and, finally, by the war. Since the early days of the war, Verniaiev spent most of his time gathering and delivering food, clothes, and equipment to soldiers in the Ukrainian army and civilians affected by the war.
Prior to 2020, Verniaiev was known for constantly competing abroad and almost never taking breaks, even for recovery from injuries and surgeries. This time, he took time to get back in competition and returned only in September, at the Mersin Challenge Cup. He won silver on pommel horse and gold on parallel bars and then got the same set of medals at the Szombathely Challenge Cup. However, he has not yet had a chance to compete in a team competition or in the all-around since his return.
Verniaiev wrote on his Instagram after the two World Cups:
“Two World Cups are done and they went well for me despite all the talks that I’m already old and would not be able to come back to the major international competitions. Four medals are the result. There is still a lot of work ahead but these competitions were of utmost importance for me both physically and mentally.”
Verniaiev’s personal coach and the head coach of the Ukrainian MAG team Gennady Sartynsky says:
“Without these competitions, I am sure, Oleg would not have been ready at all. Because the competition is like an exam that gave both him and Chepurnyi a boost. I’m very happy with these competitions, they did their job and won the medals. And, most importantly, they have gotten the scores we counted on. That’s why I’m very happy.”
Sartynsky, though, is apprehensive of the fact that Verniaiev has not competed in the all-around at international competitions in four years:
“Mentally, he’s very ready. But physically. At the World Cups, we worked on two or three events, but here he has to compete in the all-around. And to do that, we need to train, there must be special training. We haven’t had time yet to prepare in this way in order to do the all-around at full strength. I emphasize that it will not be easy for him to go through this competition.”
The main goal of the Ukrainian team in Antwerp will be qualifying to the Paris Olympics as a team and it will not be easy. Three of the team gymnasts, Verniaiev, Igor Radivilov, and Nazar Chepurnyi train in Kyiv where their training is often interrupted by air raids. Since the Ukrainian air space is closed, travel to any international competitions takes days instead of hours. Two other gymnasts, Illia Kovtun and Radomyr Stelmakh, train separately in Croatia with Irina Nadiuk and the team did not have a chance to train together in preparation for Worlds. Sartynsky said he only saw Kovtun and Stelmakh’s routines on video.
In addition, the team once again is plagued by internal conflicts. Previously, Petro Pakhniuk and Igor Radivilov and their personal coach were in a prolonged fight with the rest of the team, especially with Irina Nadiuk, which affected their performance in 2020 and 2021 and ultimately led to Pakhniuk leaving the national team, even though he still trains and competes at club competitions. In the new split, Irina Nadiuk is now at odds with Sartynsky after Nazar Chepurnyi whom she previously coached left to train with Sartynsky. Chepurnyi, in an Instagram post, accused Nadiuk of bullying, emotional abuse, and unsafe coaching techniques. Chepurnyi’s accusations were supported by several other gymnasts. It is unclear whether any action was taken by the authorities to investigate the claims.
