- A year after Eklat: First Ukrainian medal for fencing
One year after the stir caused by a refused handshake and her alleged Olympic exclusion, fencer Olga Charlan won the first medal for Ukraine at the Paris Summer Games. The 33-year-old secured the bronze in the saber competition after a strong comeback against South Korean Choi Sebin. Last year, Charlan was initially disqualified from the World Championships in Milan for refusing to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova as required by the rules at the time.
After heated debates and consultations with the International Olympic Committee, the world governing body later lifted the disqualification and ban, replacing the handshake rule with a greeting gesture with weapons. IOC President Thomas Bach had assured Charlan a spot in Paris if she failed to qualify.
"Every medal is like gold. It doesn't matter if it's bronze, it's gold," Charlan said after her victory at the Grand Palais. Her medal, she said, "is a good start for all our athletes here because it's really hard when your country is at war." The Beijing 2008 Olympic team champion added.
Charlan makes up big deficit
The incident last year fueled the debate over the readmission of Russian athletes to international competitions during the war against Ukraine. "I wouldn't do anything differently," Charlan said in retrospect. "What happened to me represents what my country is going through," the fencer explained.
In the bronze medal bout, Charlan came back from a six-point deficit to win 15-14 against the South Korean. Around 150 Ukrainians are competing at the Paris Olympics.
Russia and its ally Belarus, meanwhile, are represented by slightly more than 30 athletes, all of whom must compete under a neutral flag and will not have their anthems played. There was also a long dispute over the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Summer Games.
Olga Charlan's bronze medal victory in the saber competition at the Paris Summer Games marked a significant moment for Ukraine, as it was their first medal won in France during these Olympic Games. Despite the controversy last year when Charlan refused to shake hands with Russian fencer Anna Smirnova, her determination and skill allowed her to triumph over South Korean opponent Choi Sebin.
