Igor Radivilov was supposed to start the 2022 season at the Doha World Cup in the beginning of March. But when the war started on February 24th, all his training and competition plans were suspended. In the beginning, all draft-age men were prohibited from leaving Ukraine even if they weren’t actually being drafted into the army. Due to this, the senior Ukrainina MAG team, except for the gymnasts who were already abroad at the start of the war, could not leave the country and seek refuge elsewhere. In the end of March, provisions were made for national team athletes in various sports to leave the country to continue training abroad. Radivilov was able to go to Cottbus where he has been hosted by his Bundesliga club. Shortly after he left Ukraine, he learned that his grandparents were killed in besieged Mariupol. Nevertheless, Radivilov persisted in training and won three golds at World Challenge Cups in June.
The Ukrainian team was separated throughout their preparations for the European Championships. Radivilov trained in Cottbus, Petro Pakhniuk – in Brescia, Italy, Nazar Chepurnyi – in Prague, and the rest of the team first stayed in Italy and then moved to Croatia. Thus, the team members only met in Munich and went back to their host gyms after Euros ended. These arrangements will continue, while they’re preparing for the World Championships as well.
In Munich, in addition to his signature rings and vault, Radivilov competed on floor in the qualification for the first time in a while. Even though he competes on floor and high bar in Bundesliga, he has lower difficulty on these events and usually skips them at international competitions to avoid injuries and rest his body. However, the Ukrainian team was so depleted, with several gymnasts injured, Radivilov had to add a floor routine. The team placed 9th, just outside the team final, but safely qualifying to the World Championships. Radivilov then placed 7th in the rings final and won bronze in the vault final – his 12th European Championships medal. He told the Ukrainian Olympic Committee he dedicates this medal to his grandparents:
“The bronze medal at the European Championships gave me more faith in myself and motivation for future competitions. I dedicate this medal to my grandpa and grandma who, unfortunately, died from Russian rocket attacks in Mariupol.”
Radivilov told Suspilne, he was not fully ready for the European Championships, especially on rings where his training was affected by a shoulder injury:
“I am objective about my performance. I know how I did my routine and which athletes will compete after me. The guys are very strong. It’s hard to fight for a medal right now and because of that I put emphasis on vault. I had shoulder issues – there was quite a lot I didn’t fully do on rings. So, I think that at this stage of my preparation, making a final at the European Championships is a great result.”
On his vault medal:
“I did a huge amount of work. It was very hard, mentally, first of all, to get up and believe in myself after the brutal and serious fall at the Olympics. But I learned from it and did great work specifically on the second vault and cleaned up the first vault a bit. There were strong competitors [here] – it was a pleasure to compete against them, there was tension until the very last second. I can say I’m extremely pleased with this day. A medal? I already have one like that from 2018. I got a silver then, a bronze now. But any medal is the result of hard work, any medal is like gold for an elite athlete.”
On the team’s results:
“The team actually did great. We accomplished all our goals. We made the World Championships which will take place in October-November in Liverpool. That was the main focus of the team. I made my finals, Illia made his, so I think our team can be pleased.”
On how the war affected his training:
“The war forced us to scatter around Europe and continue our training away from home – either at friends’ places or in the countries that are hosting us. Personally, I trained in Cottbus in Germany. I have friends there, the club for which I compete is there. They created excellent conditions for me and helped as much as they could in such a difficult time for us. I can’t want for when Ukraine wins and we all come home.”
On his future plans:
“Now I want to breathe because I’m a little tired. I worked a lot, I had quite a lot of competitions in the last three months. I want to rest for maybe ten days and then resume training for the World Championships.”
Radivilov originally got the Paris Challenge Cup assignment in September but will skip the competition.
Great article. Who is left on the Ukranian women’s team as there have been a lot of retirements?
It’s a new team, the only veteran is Valeria Osipova, I think.
Great Article! What is the women’s team up to with all the retirements. Whatever happened to Daniela Batrona as she looked very promising.
I think Batrona is injured but I’m not sure
the retirements were due a host of reasons. Some, like Varinska, already planned it. Others might have wanted to continue but the combination of the war, being displaced, taking care of their families, having their training interrupted, puberty, and injuries was probably too much