Daniela Batrona is at the moment one of many youngest athletes in ladies’s creative gymnastics (WAG). At 15 years outdated, the 2022 gymnastics season marks her senior debut and the previous two weeks was imagined to be one thing of a redemption arc for Batrona. For gymnasts born in 2006 like Batrona was, the Covid-19 Pandemic has been significantly unfair for them. Whereas many of the senior occasions had been merely delayed or postponed, the majority of the junior competitions had been outright cancelled, together with the Junior World Championships.
The 2022 season was the yr issues had been lastly imagined to go Daniela Batrona’s manner after spending the previous yr and a half coping with the misfortune of belonging to a technology of juniors sidetracked by a worldwide pandemic. Upon Daniela’s arrival as a senior in 2022, she was anticipated to garner some consideration for herself, however not like this.
All eyes are on Daniela Batrona as a result of she is competing on the World Cup proper as her nation has come beneath Russian invasion. The day Vladimir Putin launched his unlawful invasion was the very same day the Cottbus World Cup started competitors (February twenty fourth, 2022). That is the place Batrona was situated when it turned obvious {that a} full scale struggle had damaged out in her homeland. It might be troublesome for any 15 yr outdated to understand what was occurring to her nation and the best way to channel these feelings.
However Daniela Batrona needed to do it with a rising highlight on her as she was the lone Ukrainian WAG in Cottbus, representing a rustic that was now on the minds of everybody. Daniela’s mere presence now turned a logo of one thing a lot bigger than herself and had little to do with gymnastics. The gymnast who solely days prior had been a 1st-year senior from a low rating WAG program, who wasn’t anticipated to rise to turn into a high headliner of the game, and handled as not all that completely different from some other gymnast had out of the blue turn into Cottbus’ most necessary WAG in attendance.
Daniela recorded a 4th place end on vault after which received a gold medal on beam. The commentator Olly Hogben mentioned it greatest when on the livestream world feed he said:
“To win any gold medal in a World Cup is an outstanding accomplishment. To win it at 15 is that little bit extra. To win it as a Ukrainian gymnast, beneath these circumstances, there aren’t phrases for that. Congratulations past congratulations for Daniela Batrona of Ukraine.”
However Daniela Batrona wasn’t executed. Her subsequent cease was to journey to Doha and compete in one other World Cup. However this time, she can be competing straight in opposition to Russian gymnasts. It was not a coincidence there have been no Russian gymnasts in Cottbus. In an instance of Putin’s deranged conduct, he had emphasised Russian-made vaccines for Russian residents in an effort to current a picture that the nation might remedy Covid-19 by itself and with out the help of Western nations.
This led to additional Covid-19 associated journey restrictions in Western nations for Russian athletes. The consequence of utilizing an alternate vaccine that didn’t have the identical ranges of recognition in comparison with the extra predominate European vaccines. This triggered Russia’s absence from Cottbus World Cup which is situated in Germany. However the identical drawback didn’t come up in Doha permitting Russia to ship a comparatively robust staff led by Viktoria Listunova, Vladislava Urazova, Maria Minaeva, and Arina Semukhina. All of that are robust candidates for Russia’s 2022 World Championships lineup.
For Ukraine the presence of Russian gymnasts in Doha can be troublesome to return to phrases with. After inner debate and with a Ukrainian withdrawal being strongly thought of, this system determined to press forward and compete. For Daniela Batrona, this meant she can be competing within the uneven bars last in opposition to a pair of Russian gymnasts. Throughout the qualification stage Daniela certified within the #2 spot whereas Russian gymnasts took spots #1 and #3. There was additionally Anastasia Smantsar of Belarus situated within the #4 spot.
Belarus has been equally as responsible as Russia of facilitating the invasion of Ukraine. Like Russia, Belarus has additionally been subjected to lots of the similar sanctions Russia has. The presence of Smantsar meant that Batrona was going to compete beneath circumstances the place almost half of the gymnasts she was dealing with in an equipment finals had been representing nations that bore duty for the struggling plaguing her nation. Moreover, there was a excessive diploma of chance that these gymnasts would be a part of her on the rostrum if Daniela had been to medal.
That’s precisely what occurred as Daniela Batrona took bronze whereas the 2 Russian gymnasts took the gold and silver. However what occurred subsequent was an uncommon medal ceremony, if not one which was fully unprecedented in gymnastics historical past the place the Ukrainian and Russian gymnasts had been stored segregated.
Daniela Batrona walked out to gather her medal whereas draped in a Ukrainian flag. She stood on the rostrum within the bronze medal placement whereas she took her victory celebration. Daniela then walked off the rostrum after mounting it alone and disappeared from the ceremony. Solely then might the 2 Russian gymnasts enter and settle for their medals. The enduring second the place three opponents would all embrace on the highest of the rostrum and pose for images wouldn’t happen in uneven bars finals at 2022-Doha.
Observe: The medal ceremony might be discovered right here on one in all my favourite YouTube channels which options a few of Daniela Batrona’s Cottbus routines.
Many gymnastics followers bear in mind the camaraderie that existed between Russian and Ukrainian athletes previous to February twenty fourth, 2022. The examples of friendship and blissful coexistence the place regardless of competing in opposition to one another for medals, these WAGs all the time supported one another, empowered one another, and genuinely appeared to love one another.
Those self same gymnastics followers would rightly level out that Listunova, Urazova, Minaeva, and Semukhina have all the time demonstrated the correct kindness, etiquette, and respect for his or her fellow opponents. That they’re greater than able to treating Daniela Batrona with the empathy, respect and care she deserves in such a troublesome time. Even their ages with Daniela being 15 years outdated whereas the Russian quartet options three 16 yr olds and one 17 yr outdated might break the political gridlock. The truth that all the Russian and Ukrainian gymnasts are teenage ladies would makes them much more harmless to the subject of geopolitics than an grownup athlete.
Maybe there might even be a manner for them to return collectively in Doha and let the gymnasts of the 2 delegations produce a logo representing peace, or on the very least empathy for the deaths occurring in Ukraine.
However we’re far past that.
Vera Caslavska’s famed 1968 podium protest after she took the rostrum with two Soviet gymnasts within the speedy aftermath of the Soviet Union invading her nation is without doubt one of the most memorable moments in WAG historical past. However that scenario merely doesn’t examine to 2022.
The size of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian Warfare is so huge that it kills as many individuals in any given hour as the entire variety of violent deaths that occurred within the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia from starting to finish. This from a 2022 battle that has already skilled 9 days of combating and will go on for months.
No type phrases from a Russian gymnast, no hug or pat on the shoulder comes near atoning for a way a lot rage any Ukrainian athlete should really feel to have a Russian gymnast in her presence. Regardless of how respectfully a Russian gymnast conducts herself, there’s nothing she will do that can offset that by means of no fault of her personal, her presence is a hurtful reminder of the disaster that has occurred.
If there’s any confusion as to why this weird medal ceremony was arrange in the best way that it was, it was as a result of anything would have been an insult. It was arrange in order that no Ukrainian athlete must stand along with a Russian. Whereas the Russian athletes are greater than able to dealing with an interplay appropriately, the Ukrainian athletes are in far an excessive amount of ache to abdomen any interplay in any respect. Particularly throughout a second as public as a medal ceremony.
That is the resiliency of Daniela Batrona. Who received medals in two completely different competitions because the harmful and lethal invasion of her nation commenced. Profitable these medals on two completely different continents. She is a younger gymnast who was thrust into a task far higher than she might ever think about, in essentially the most painful context nobody might have beforehand comprehended, on the very day her senior worldwide profession was set to start. Batrona then rose to the formidable process of competing in opposition to these from the nation that has upended her life and endangered all that Daniela holds expensive. However not as soon as did Batrona let the Belarusian and Russian presence trigger her to falter or lose her cool.
As a substitute Daniela Batrona gave the strongest efficiency of her profession and made Ukraine proud.
Replace: This text was written on the midway level of the 2022 Doha World Cup. After this text was printed Daniela Batrona received one other medal (silver on flooring) in Doha. This makes her last tally being three complete medals received over a 10-day window. One in Cottbus and two in Doha.
