Ukraine launches Paris Olympic stamp to support athletes
The 140 athletes of the Ukrainian delegation who will compete in Paris 2024 will be symbolically supported by the launch of a postage stamp put into circulation by the Ukrainian Postal Service. The stamp was presented last Friday at the Olympic House in Kyiv.
It will be the smallest team in Ukraine’s Olympic history. The 140 athletes representing the country at Paris 2024 will be the smallest and least numerous delegation in history. Last Friday at the Olympic House in Kyiv, the Ukrainian postal service held a presentation.
Ukrainian officials warn that the loss of athletes and coaches during the conflict with Russia may have reduced the potential delegation. The situation in the country is far from ideal when it comes to preparing for such an important event. Training sessions are often interrupted. All this has contributed to the fact that the delegation is much smaller than in other editions.
@ukrposhta today had launched Ukrainian Olympic Team stamp, dedicated to Summer Olympic Games in Paris. We’ll beat russia on the battlefield in the near future with international support and we had already beaten them at the Olimpics pic.twitter.com/r6mTFpfC0M
— Igor Smelyansky (@smelyansky_igor) July 19, 2024
Several athletes who have experienced this difficult situation were present at the event. The stamp was presented to symbolically support the participation of Ukrainian athletes.
Athletes have had their routines disrupted. Not to mention the disappearance of their training grounds, sports facilities and competition venues. All this has contributed to their inability to perform at the level required for the Olympic Games.
A set of six stamps will be issued, representing sports in which Ukraine has won medals. These include fencing, judo, tennis, canoeing, weightlifting and shooting.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in the Olympic Games following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It later allowed some athletes to take part under a neutral flag, but with a number of conditions, including that they had not supported the invasion in any way.
On Friday, 25 athletes from Russia and Belarus will arrive in Paris to compete in the Paris Olympics under the neutral flag, after several reports, requests and refusals.