Kyiv hosts 2025 Invictus Games national team selection for Ukraine
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
The national selection for the Ukrainian team of the Invictus Games 2025 was held in Kyiv from May 30 to June 3. Wounded military personnel and veterans competed in various sports during the national competitions.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs reports this.
"Courage and honor. Endurance and results. Moving forward. It's all about you, about each and everyone whose will is stronger than the body. About your families, who are also with you today, without whose support it would be tough. Me too, as you can now say: injury is not the end of life, as it seems at the beginning. This is a new stage, another test that can and must be overcome," Oleksandr Porkhun, Minister of Veteran Affairs of Ukraine, said at the opening.
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
The present individuals paid tribute to the memory of Dmytro Sydoruk, Andriy Kotovenko, Serhiy Smilin, Volodymyr Motelchuk, Dmytro Oliinyk, Serhiy Karaivan, Volodymyr Nerod, Oleksiy Rubtsov, Taras Koval, Dmytro Syniuk, Serhii Ilnytskyi, and Oleh Kravets, members of the national teams who sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom and independence for Ukraine.
The head of the Ministry also awarded medals to the members of the Ukrainian team of the Invictus Games 2023: Vitaliy Borodavka, Nazar Vozniuk, Maksym Dmytrash, Oleh Dolzhko, Mykola Zaritskyi, Maksym Zubov, Yevhenii Kireyonka, Kostiantyn Kobyliana, Dmytro Kozak, Semen Lahuna, Pavlo Luchkiv, Vadym Maznichenko, Oleksandr Makovei, Ivan Moldun, Dmytro Polovian, Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Volodymyr Tovkis and Yulia Shevchuk.
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
During four days, the participants competed in 9 types of adaptive sports:
- athletics (running, shot put, discus throw),
- cycling,
- swimming,
- sitting volleyball
- wheelchair basketball,
- powerlifting rowing on simulators,
- archery,
- table tennis.
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
Most participants tested their strength in the chosen sports for the first time.
"During the rehabilitation process for veterans, sports not only improve their physical health but also enhance their psychological well-being. Sport serves as a link between mental and physical wellness. As a result, the Ukrainian Veterans Fund is dedicated to organizing such sporting events and providing support for the advancement of physical rehabilitation in communities through the "Varto" funding competitions," Ruslana Velychko-Trifoniuk, acting director of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund, said.
During the closing ceremony, the Invictus Games 2024 All-Ukrainian Competitions winners were recognized. Participants from Kyiv took home the highest number of medals, 37. Close behind were representatives from the Dnipropetrovsk region, with a remarkable 36 medals, setting a new record among all other regions.
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
The national competitions are the starting point for selecting the team for the international Invictus Games, which will be held in February 2025 in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
This year, the national competition of the Invictus Games saw the highest number of participants yet, with 329 military personnel and veterans who sustained injuries, wounds, or illnesses while serving in combat at the front. In June, a commission will choose 35 individuals to join the national team representing Ukraine at the international Invictus Games in Canada in 2025.
Photo: Ministry of Veteran Affairs
The national competition became the largest veteran sports event, uniting service members and veterans from every region of Ukraine. This year, one representative of Finland, who fought for Ukraine, took part in the national competition.
For reference:
The 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver–Whistler will be a unique Winter Games featuring a blend of traditional and new sports like swimming, machine rowing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby. Exciting winter lineup additions include alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing, skeleton, and wheelchair curling.
In 2023, the Ukrainian national team won 34 medals: 12 gold, 14 silver, and eight bronze at the 2023 Invictus Games held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
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