Beijing (AP) – The Ukrainian athletes will probably fly home after the Paralympics, but will not return to their apartments and houses.
“They know that they cannot go into the war zones,” reported President Friedhelm Julius Beucher of the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) to the German Press Agency: “They will probably first go together to accommodation in another part of the country. Of course it will change lots of things every day. But my fellow president said to me, “That’s probably our way.””
After that we’ll see how it goes. “We definitely want to help and will find the best possible way to do so,” promised Beucher: “It’s about cars, about living space, everything is in flux.” In addition, there have already been offers, such as from the parents of record Paralympic champion Verena Bentele, to take in athletes.
“The French team management offered the Ukrainians to come to France with the whole team,” said Beucher: “But many of them want to stay in Ukraine. Of course, you have to see to what extent that’s possible.”