2018 was difficult for the Ukrainian men’s team. With Oleg Verniaiev, Yevgen Yudenkov, and Petro Pakhniuk injured most of the year, the team without Yudenkov and Verniaiev and with Pakhniuk only doing three events placed 13th in the qualification and did not make the team final. At Worlds, Ukraine finished 9th, just outside the final, but left the competition with only one medal – Verniaiev’s silver on parallel bars. Two more surgeries for Verniaiev at the beginning of this year made the team’s prospects less predictable. However, Ukraine managed to come back strong and placed 4th in the qualifications. Verniaiev managed to make the all-around final but mistakes did not allow him to enter any other finals. It will be the first time since 2013 he will leave Worlds without a parallel bars medal. However, Petro Pakhniuk will try to continue the Ukrainian tradition on medalling on bars, while Igor Radivilov made the vault final. Pakhniuk will also compete in the all-around final.
However, the team decided not to put a lot of emphasis into the team final as they considered their chances to medal very low. Ukraine did not get their maximum possible scores in the qualifications but a gap of more than four points between them and Japan seemed a bit high.
Pakhniuk said:
“Tomorrow we’ll decide whether we’ll give it our all in the team final. The Chinese, the Russians, and the Japanese are looking really great while we are still lacking something.”
Ukraine will put up Yevgen Yudenkov and Vladyslav Hryko on most of the events, while resting Pakhniuk and Verniaiev who will prepare for the individual finals.
Verniaiev felt like the team really proved that they’re still one of the strongest teams in men’s gymnastics:
“As a team, we were training a lot and working hard. I guess this our first high result in a while. But everything was leading up to it because the guys went through a very intensive training load during the preparation. It was a bit harder for me, of course, because with my injuries, there are ups and downs. But, generally, in the team competition, we showed it to everyone who didn’t believe in us, who put us in 13th or 14th place.”
He felt like he was not prepared enough to make the individual finals as he’s still recovering from his surgeries:
“I was generally doing almost my full routines, I just don’t have the stamina, it wasn’t completely enough. First, I was shaking a bit on the pommel horse, didn’t quite do enough. On vault – I always rely on luck on my second vault. I think the last time I did it was at Worlds in Qatar or, maybe, even before that. And bars… Well, this happens, I don’t know what to say. I guess, I burned out a bit, I was too nervous. It’s all coming back to the preparation. I competed the way I trained.”
“51% of our focus was on the team qualification to the Olympics and 49% was on the individual finals. We managed but what can you do about the individual finals. I’ll get back to the hotel, I’ll cry a bit, and will start preparing for the team final. You see that I’ve been having two surgeries every January now. I guess, if this year we get lucky and nothing happens, we’ll be preparing for the Olympics.”
“Regarding a medal in the all-around… We’ll see, I can’t make predictions now. I know that I can get around 87 but I can also get only 81. It all depends on how much endurance I’ll have. Of course, we’ll fight, we’ll try. We’ll see what the coaches decide regarding the team final and the all-around.”
For Petro Pakhniuk, the major achievement was finally making the parallel bars final:
“Was I able to manage everything I expected to do? I haven’t slept in seven days. Considering that, I think, I did even better than I expected. The nerves didn’t let me sleep. Until you run through ten routines on bars, pommel horse and floor in your head, it’s absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to sleep! I just want to have a good sleep tonight!”
“Our main goal was to make the team final. I wasn’t thinking about anything else, I was only thinking about performing consistently and without falls for the team. My second goal was, of course, my personal ambitions. First of all, to make a final on bars. It’s my fifth World Championships. Last year, I lacked only one-tenth to get into the final. Give me a final already! Thank God, I’m in the final – I’m 28 years old, after all! My dreams came true. Do I wish for anything better? No way! We made the Olympics, I made the bars final. Have I changed anything in my training? I haven’t. Did I do my best? Yes, I did! Everything went great.”
He feels like the war in Ukraine adds to his responsibility to do really well at competitions as this is the way he can do his share for the country:
“I want to do well in the all-around final. That’s the only reason why we are coming here. Only to do well. We have a great responsibility – to represent our country. I’m an athlete, that’s my job, that’s my craft. It’s hard but you know, our country is at war, some people are sitting in the trenches, it’s hard for them. I can’t even say it properly, but I’m trying to compete so that people who hear my name won’t be ashamed, so that I won’t let them down.”
