Merkushyna Inspires Hope for Ukrainians at Milano Cortina Olympics

Ukrainian Biathlon and National Pride

By Philip O'Connor

Merkushyna's Journey and Goals

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Such is the popularity of biathlon in war-torn Ukraine that winter sports fans have been buying generators to provide power so they can watch the country's young competitors such as Oleksandra Merkushyna in action at the Milano Cortina Olympics. 

Impact of War on Ukrainian Athletes

In a sport requiring physical endurance on the track and calmness on the shooting range, that might mean extra pressure on the likes of the 21-year-old but she sees it as a privilege to have a chance to give her compatriots a moment to celebrate. 

The Role of Biathlon in Ukraine

"Biathlon is really popular in Ukraine - I think now it's like getting closer to the (popularity of the national) football team, so I'm really happy about this," Merkushyna told Reuters. 

Challenges Faced by Fans

"I don't feel I'm popular in the real life, but people talk about the biathlon team a lot in the social media, so it's cool - everyone wants a medal from biathlon because they like biathlon (back home), so we will try our best here."

The sharpshooter, who joined mother Iryna and older sister Anastasiya among the ranks of the family's Olympians when she took part in Sunday's mixed relay, had just completed a final training session ahead of Wednesday's 15km individual race.

Ukrainian competitors at the Games are well aware of their potential to lift their nation's spirits. 

Russia currently occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine's national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas region seized before the 2022 invasion.

Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from competing under their nation's flags at the Olympics because of the war, which is into its fifth year.

"It's a bit of pressure, because I know that they have no electricity in Ukraine, and they bought, like, generators to watch biathlon," Merkushyna explained. 

"People do not have a lot of time on their phones, they don't have a lot of power, very little power, (but) they are still watching biathlon, because they like it, and I want to give them good emotions."

Shouldering the burden of the nation's expectations is something that seems to come easily to the young biathlete, who shot to prominence when she won the Ukrainian national senior championship as a 14-year-old in 2019. 

"I want to make something positive in their lives. Of course, it's a bit difficult to think about this, but when I'm at the race, I'm trying to not think about anything, only on doing my job, focusing on my job," she said. 

While a medal would mean the world to her fans back home, Merkushyna is focusing on qualifying for the later competitions in the Olympic program, and shooting "zeros" - hitting all her targets with no penalties - in her preferred event. 

"I think the main goal for me now, it's to qualify for the mass start, because that's my favourite race and I will try to do this, and I will be more than happy to have four zeros in the mass start. That's my main goal now," she said.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)