After fleeing from a war zone, a group of young Ukrainian track and field athletes have made their way to safety in Albania. Their minds are still between the two countries. ()
바카라I miss my mother바카라s food and grandmother바카라s advice,바카라 said 17-year-old Maria Lariva, who throws the shot put. 바카라I miss my coach and the stadium, my city, home, my country, everything.바카라
Lariva and seven other teenage athletes were evacuated from Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk region that is part of Ukraine바카라s industrial heartland 바카라 where Russia has focused its fighting after its early failure to sweep across the country and overrun the capital.
Their families have stayed behind.
바카라I talk with my family every day. Many times a day,바카라 said 17-year-old Valentyn Loboda, a pole vaulter who has been training in the long jump since the group arrived in Elbasan on March 31. 바카라We speak about how is going on in Ukraine, how바카라s going on in Albania.바카라
The eight athletes are training at the Sport Club Elbasani with help from the Albanian Olympic committee and the city itself, which is located about 45 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital Tirana.
Leaving home was hard, and the train ride was dangerous.
바카라(Everybody) lied down, closed doors and windows for about 30 minutes fearing the aircrafts flying quite close,바카라 Lariva said, describing the journey from Kramatorsk to Dubno.
The group then made their way to Lutsk before entering Poland and taking a flight to Albania.
The athletes compete in various sports in track and field. Some of them are aiming to reach the required standards to take part in the World Athletics U20 Championship in Cali, Colombia, in early August.
Lariva, playing a video sent to her from her mother showing a giant whole near her home created by a bomb, said she breaks down in tears when her mother doesn바카라t respond to phone calls.
바카라During shelling there is no internet,바카라 she said.
Pavlo Zadorozhiy, a 71-year-old coach, is worried that this experience will affect the potential career of his athletes. But he said he is 바카라more concerned of the people dying in my country, the children, and seeing horrible views every day, broken houses.바카라
Artin Kovaci, the head of the Elbasani sports club, said the hosts try to fulfil 바카라any request they have,바카라 adding that a club official accompanies the athletes almost all day long.
There was even a pleasant surprise when Albanian long jumper Izmir Smajlaj came to Elbasan to meet with Loboda. Smajlaj won the gold medal at the 2017 European indoor championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and is the country바카라s record holder in the event.
바카라We were friends in Facebook,바카라 Loboda said. 바카라It was great that Izmir, the great athlete, came to meet me.바카라
Loboda said he hopes to have a successful sports career and one day return home to Ukraine to teach English.
바카라I want to go back because I miss my family,바카라 Loboda said. 바카라Albania is a good country, but we are Ukrainian. We want to (go to) our home, to our parents.바카라
