The situation in Ukraine is very unstable. Anxiety prevails among its people, including the young Ukrainian sportsman – Oleg Zhoh. How does he cope with that anxiety, does it affect his training?

Oleg, what are your plans for the nearest future?

I train and rest, I’m preparing for the Ukrainian championships. No injuries so far, I’m in good shape and training regularly.

What’s new in your life since our last interview?

Nothing big, really. I train and relax, as per usual. Nothing big is happening in armwrestling right now, so I don’t pay much attention to anything.

The situation in Ukraine is very tense. How dose Euromaydan affect you as a Ukrainian citizen?

Ukraine is in a state of revolution, almost war! I support the Euromaydan, but many are opposed to what’s happening there. They don’t know what really happened, because the TV shows a different view. Information is deformed in order to bias the viewer against the Euromaydan! I even asked some of my friends in Kremlin, why do they support Russia. They told me that the Euromaydan is just a hoax, innocent Berkut guys are being killed just for standing there and doing nothing wrong. I want everyone to realize that one nation means one country. In every international sporting event we stand together and sing one anthem. I don’t want this stupid war, I want to live in my country in peace!

Does the current situation affect your training in any way?

I care a lot for my country, the situation affects me a lot. Before I could focus all my energy on sport, now I also worry about politics.

After two gold medals in the Olympics, Alexey Voevoda’s return to armwrestling is no longer a certainty. What do you think his choice will be – bobsled or armwrestling?

Maybe he will make a comeback, but I doubt he’ll get to the top this year, mainly because he trained in a way completely different from armwrestling.
 

Artur Grigorian