Ukraine: Abramenko, from Beijing silver to the hiding place in the Kiev garage

On February 16 he celebrated silver in freestyle at the Beijing Winter Games, now he lives in the garage of his building in Kiev. The story of Oleksandr Abramenko, 33, flag bearer of his country at the Games and the only medalist of the expedition to China, is that of many Ukrainians who in recent days have seen their lives twisted into fear and drama.

That embrace of peace

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On February 16 Abramenko received a close embrace from his friend and rival on the track Ilia Burov, a Russian athlete who won bronze in Beijing and with whom he shared the podium also in Pyeongchang. A hug that had already been read as a gesture of peace even then. A few days later Russia attacked Ukraine and everything changed.

Hidden

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Oleksandr moved into the garage with his wife Alexandra and two-year-old son, Dimitry. They live on a mattress placed on the ground, an extreme solution but still better for the Olympic vice-champion than staying in their apartment on the twentieth floor. “We spent the night in the car, in the building’s underground parking lot, as the siren that warned of air raids kept sounding. She’s scary,” he told the New York Times, which published the story. And now the image of the champion and his family in that garage conveys the meaning of this terrible tragedy better than many others.