PARIS — It’s Sunday night at Stade de France, and Yaroslava Mahuchikh is here but not here. On the other end of the stadium, 12 men are trying to medal in the hammer throw; on the track, runners in three events are trying to advance to the finals; in Mahuchikh’s hometown, Ukrainian troops are trying to save their country.
“It’s not possible to focus only on track, to high jump,” she will say later, when she is asked if she can clear her mind when she competes. “Our families in Ukraine … we have friends who are fighting …. I cannot forget about this. I remember, always.”
