"I had fear": Ukrainian vice-champion of the 2024 Olympics shares his emotions of winning a medal

Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun admitted that he was nervous before the start of the parallel bars tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris. Our compatriot was forced to open the competition, which ended with the 20-year-old native of Cherkasy winning silver.

Kovtun said this in an interview with journalists, an OBOZ.UA correspondent reports from the scene. According to our athlete, he had to perform the entire program as cleanly as possible, since the results of other tournament participants were not yet available, and he was setting the tone for the competition.

"The combination could have been a little better, but I have a medal, so I'm happy. And the coach is happy. Since I was the first to perform, I was a little afraid because I had to go out first and do my best. That was the only reason. I went out, did my best, and now we see this result. I wasn't too worried, because I did everything I could, both today and at the Olympic Games, in particular, I gave it my best shot, and then it will happen," Kovtun said.

He also added that he is focusing on the 2028 Olympics. "You can compete with anyone because it's a sport - there are a lot of emotions, stress, and experiences. Yes, the Chinese is doing his job very well, he became an Olympic champion on the uneven bars in Tokyo and here. We'll see what happens in Los Angeles, we'll try our best," the gymnast emphasized.

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