Young judoists from the affected regions of Ukraine, under the auspices of the Olympic Dreams project, won 14 gold medals in international competitions
2023-01-30 17:50
A team of young Ukrainian athletes took part in the Cyprus International Judo Tournament 2023, organised by Christodoulides Judo Academy, in which 8 countries were represented by more than 700 participants. In 5 age categories, students of the Olympic College, under the guidance of Honored Coach of Ukraine Karen Balayan and Oleksandra Starkova, Ukrainian judokas won 30 medals: 14 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze medals.
Participation in the competition and the athletes' stay on the island of Cyprus became possible thanks to the Olympic Dreams project of "The Future for Children Charitable Foundation", with the support of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus, Ambassador Ruslan Nimchynskyi personally and the Kepaky Foundation, the NOC of Ukraine, the Judo Federation of Ukraine, philanthropist Anatoliy Boyko and other partners.
"Today, when a significant part of our country's infrastructure, including sports infrastructure, has been destroyed due to the military actions, caused by russia's aggression, our athletes are forced to train without electricity, water, and heating, sometimes even in the open air. Therefore, the Olympic Dreams project, which gives a group of Ukrainian athletes the opportunity to train in safe Cyprus and show significant success at the international level, is an example of fruitful cooperation between public organizations, government agencies and philanthropists", - said Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Cyprus, Ruslan Nimchynskyi.
Thanks to the comprehensive cooperation of the Foundation's team with the project's partners and sponsors, Ukrainian athletes will stay in Cyprus for more than 1.5 months and return home in February to participate in the Ukrainian cadet and junior qualifying championships.
"We have received another significant result of our international sports camp project Olympic Dreams. There is no room for pauses in sports, so our main goal is to help child athletes from the affected regions of Ukraine, continue training without interruption, to preserve the country's new sports generation and Ukraine's new victories in international arenas", - said philanthropist Anatoliy Boyko.
As a reminder: last summer, more than 100 young athletes, within the framework of Olympic Dreams project, had an opportunity to safely train in Greece for three months, thanks to which Ukraine has already won more than one medal at international tournaments.
Information and references: Before the war, the Future for Children Foundation took care of children in the boarding school at the Nyzhnebystrovska Gymnasium. With the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a shelter for internally displaced people was created on the territory of the gymnasium.
To date, the Foundation's team has already supported more than 500 mentees (children of the gymnasium and IDP families with children), and the number is constantly growing.
Since 2022, the Foundation has been developing the project of international sports camps "Olympic Dreams", the main purpose of which is to support Ukrainian athletes, their recovery, as well as ensuring their sustainable training process and gaining international sports experience for the future victories of Ukraine on world arenas.