The National Sports Federations of the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) continue to accept athletes who have fled war-torn Ukraine. Thus, Ukrainian divers arrived in Zadar, who will train at the pool in the Višnjik Sports Center, hosted by the Zadar Diving Club and the Croatian Diving Association, reports HRT.
“After the letter from the Ukrainian federation to admit their athletes, we immediately started with the organization. Zadar was the first option given the best training conditions in Croatia; 43 Ukrainians are now there, athletes, coaches, and support staff. All are housed in private accommodation. We will also allow them to compete at all of our national championships, which is the least we can do for them,” said the secretary of the HSSV, Marina Novosel.
One of the strongest globally, the Ukrainian national team is led by the legendary Illya Kvasa, the 2008 bronze medalist in Beijing, and a five-time European and two-time world champion.
“We are happy because we came to a safe place. We have not trained for a month because of the overall situation in Ukraine and the ongoing war. The most important thing is that we are safe now and manage to dedicate ourselves to training again. I hope that the war will end soon and that we will return to our homes as soon as possible. I thank our hosts who have received us very well, are very kind, and are always there for everything we need,” said Kvasa.
“We are glad that we managed to organize and accommodate our sports friends who have taken refuge here from the war in their country in a short time. We are here for everything they need,” added the president of the Zadar Diving Club, Marko Nevešćanin.
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