This was for Ukraine. It was for the people back home where every victory, of whatever kind, is laden with meaning few outside can understand. It was for those who have lost their lives while fighting to ensure the country’s athletes remain free to compete. It was for Olha Kharlan’s family in Mykolaiv, where her parents spent months living in their basement under continued Russian attack. And it was for the show of principle that almost denied her the chance to experience this at all.
Kharlan collapsed to the ground in tears after beating Choi Sebin, the sparky South Korean, in sudden death to win bronze in the women’s sabre. She leapt into the arms of her coach, Andrea Terenzio, before kissing the blue and yellow coloured mask through which she had glimpsed history. While she had hoped to roll back the years with gold in what is almost certainly her final Olympics, how beautifully fitting it was that a genuine national icon should deliver Ukraine’s first medal of Paris 2024.
