Olympic Legend Joins Support for Athletes in Ukraine

Dániel Gyurta, Chief Ministerial Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Ministerial Advisor Miklós Gór-Nagy discussed the possibilities of cooperation and support with sports leaders from Transcarpathia, Ukraine, and donated sports equipment to the Hungarian water polo club in Ungvár (Uzhhorod).

The Hungarian sports diplomats first visited sports facilities and open water centers in and around Ungvár, used by swimmers and water polo players. At the sports swimming pool of the Uzhhorod National University, Dániel Gyurta, Olympic, three-time world and two-time European swimming champion, and Miklós Gór-Nagy, world water polo champion, presented the Dinamo Transcarpathian County Children and Youth Sports School donations, including swim trunks, balls, caps and ear protectors.

Robert Lewizkij, President of the Transcarpathian Water Sports Federation, thanked the sponsors for their support and explained that Covid and the Russian-Ukrainian war have significantly set back the sporting life.

At the same time, there are not enough swimming pools, so the athletes of the newly revived junior water polo section are taking advantage of the favorable weather to train in lakes around the city.

The delegation toured the largest multi-purpose sports hall in the city, where Aleksandr Ledida, President of the Uzhhorod Carpathian Women’s Handball Club and the county’s handball federation, said that for several months after the outbreak of the war, the facility was home to refugees.

At present, only one of the halls and a sports hall on the outskirts of the city are suitable for training.

Summing up the visit to Transcarpathia, Dániel Gyurta stressed that he had visited the region several times before as a representative of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, but had also visited Lviv and Kiev. As for the ongoing Hungarian aid to Ukraine, he said that it was aimed at supporting local communities.

Via MTI, Featured photo via Pixabay