"Swimming with a temperature of 38.2": what trouble happened to the Ukrainian champion at the Olympics and whether he talked to his rivals about the war

Oleksandr Zheltiakov, the reigning European champion in the 200-meter backstroke, was on his way to the 2024 Olympics to compete for medals in Paris, but instead he developed a fever of 38.2 and did not even make it to the finals. At the same time, the 18-year-old athlete from Dnipro did not even think about withdrawing from the competition, he tried to do his best.

In a conversation with OBOZ.UA, the world junior champion in two backstroke distances told why he decided not to attend the opening of his first Games, where he thinks the insidious illness came from, whether he talks to his rivals about the war in Ukraine, and whether he is not afraid to train in Dnipro.

- The main races of this year are behind you, what are you happy with or not? Probably not with the illness at the Olympics that prevented you from performing to your full potential?

- Yes, I'm not happy with the illness, but that's just an excuse, because maybe I could have done better, but it was just the way it was. This illness worked more like a brake for me, somehow. In general, I consider my performance in the season to be average, because the Olympic Games were supposed to go according to a different scenario, but it is what it is.

- And how were the Games supposed to go according to your plan?

- According to my plan, there should have been at least the final, because I entered with the fifth or fourth result in the season and had to reach at least the final, and then it would be as it was.

- What really happened and why did the swim team, which has been our strongest in the last 10-15 years, suffer so much? Although I talked to the track and field athletes, they were also sick, with temperatures over 38. How did it all start?

- Perhaps it started with someone from the other teams in the Olympic Village, because Vlad Bukhov and I didn't even go to the opening ceremony because it was raining and we didn't want to get sick. And the next day, we got sick: I had a temperature of 38, just like Vlad, coughing and running nose. What to do? We hadn't even gone out, except to eat. It was a shock for us. I don't know how the disease came to that village.

- Was there any thought of filming before the swim?

- No, there was no such thought. I had to swim anyway. It's much better than not starting at all. Even if I swam my first distance in Paris - 100 meters on my back - I swam with a temperature of 38.2. And I had to do it, because if I hadn't started and competed, I would have felt much worse. It's hard enough, but without the fight, it would have been something incredible.

- Did you feel like you were floating or were you surprised when you saw the result? Despite the temperature, did you hope to do better?

- Well, there should always be hope. But as for the result... As always, I just swam and let it happen. But at the same time, I thought the result would be better, especially in the 200-meter backstroke. But when I swam and looked at the scoreboard, it wasn't the worst of what could have been, but it wasn't even the average of what I had to do for the morning swim.

- At the Olympics, I was able to attend Vlad Bukhov's semifinal and saw how he was supported and reassured by his competitors, including, I think, those from Australia and Britain. What is your relationship with your rivals? Did they try to support you in Paris?

- Everything was the same as with Vlad, I communicate very well with the Pole, there are guys from Greece and the UK. We support each other, because in swimming it may be different, but even before the race we all communicate well with each other, only when we go out on the track do we become rivals, but after the race we support each other. And if someone has a bad swim, we say that it happens, it's a sport, not everyone can win all the time and even be in good shape.

- Now, after 2.5 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, what do you mostly talk about with your opponents before the competition? Does this topic come up often, especially since you are from Dnipro?

- People who know where I am, how I train, and that I am in Ukraine always ask. Such people are interested in every tournament, how and what. But it's more of a current topic, because it's still a competition, and even I don't want to tell them again and burden them too much. However, when I give interviews, I always talk about the war and the situation in Ukraine.

- What do you remember from the Olympics in general?

- Nothing, because we didn't even go anywhere, except for the Paris City Hall, where I was with our team. Other than that, I don't remember anything because I got sick in the first days and thought only about how to get better and how to cover the distance.

- What did your parents say afterwards? How did they reassure you? You were going to the Olympics in good shape.

- Your parents? Nothing, they understand everything. I told them that it's like this and like that. And if I'm trying to be less upset, why should they be more upset than I am?

- Because they are parents.

- Yes, and I know that my mom is very upset, she doesn't tell me, but I know. But it's still a sport, and it's normal. The next competition, the next season will be much better, I hope. I will work hard, that's all.

- Do you have anything else planned for this year?

- Yes, in December there will be the World Short Course Championships. We'll see how it goes, because short water is not my thing. We have a lot of 25-meter pools in Ukraine, but I don't train in them at all. In Dnipro, the Olympic pool is 50 meters, so it's much harder for me to go into short water than a 50-meter pool. But we'll see, I'm going to prepare and I think I'll be fine.

- Are you going to train in Dnipro? Because the frontline is slowly creeping towards you, the Russians have intensified their shelling of Ukrainian cities...

- Yes, I'll be in Dnipro for the first two months of the season, and maybe in November we'll go to a competition in Poland, stay there for a week or two, I don't remember. And then the World Cup is already scheduled.

- Is it possible to train normally in Dnipro now?

- We'll see how it goes. I was already in the pool during the shelling. Two times out of three, and my pool has already been hit three times. Once we were right at the training with the team, and the next time we were in the hotel. That's why I have a slightly different attitude to this.

However, if it's bad, we will go to Kyiv or somewhere else, and there we will see how the situation is.

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