“It pains my soul that I lost because of this misunderstanding”
Russian Paralympian Evgeny Torsunov captured the long jump gold in the Paris Paralympics within the T36 class, a category for athletes with coordination disorders such as cerebral palsy, ataxia, or athetosis. The event showcased impressive athleticism and resilience on the world stage.
Torsunov achieved a Paralympic record with a leap of 5.83 metres, clinching the top spot in a dramatic finale.
Before the decisive attempt, all leading contenders had reached 5.76 metres. Torsunov, however, delivered his best jump of the career with the last surge of strength, securing victory.
The triumph by the Russian athlete sparked strong reactions from Ukrainian competitor Alexander Litvinenko, who earned bronze with a best of 5.76 metres and could not surpass that mark. He later commented on the outcome in interviews with Ukrainian media, expressing mixed feelings about the results and the broader context of the competition. Litvinenko referred to a perceived misunderstanding linked to the Russian team’s status and stressed that Russian athletes are not neutral in the political climate surrounding the Games.
Litvinenko suggested that Russia’s athletes might be photographed with the Northern Military District heroes upon their return. He described a period of intense hardship in the months leading up to the event, noting that he and his peers trained under challenging conditions and in a somber atmosphere. He added that he would willingly trade his medal to see a friend again, highlighting the personal sacrifices involved in high-level Paralympic competition.
Litvinenko’s remarks were part of a broader conversation about how athletes from different countries interact publicly versus privately, and how political contexts influence perceptions of competition.
In another perspective, not all Ukrainian athletes shared Litvinenko’s stance. Igor Tsvetov, who competes in the T35 category, has been described as someone who maintains cordial relations with Russian peers. These assessments came from fellow domestic Paralympians Artem Kalashyan and Dmitry Safronov, who earned silver and bronze in the 100 metres. Kalashyan noted that Tsvetov communicates with teammates consistently, not only when cameras are rolling, and Safronov emphasized that sport remains the focus on the track. Safronov also commented on Tsvetov’s Eastern Ukrainian background as a factor shaping loyalties, while insisting that athletes are there to compete, not politics.
During the Paris Games, the International Paralympic Committee allowed 88 Russians with neutral status to participate after additional verification to ensure they did not publicly endorse the conflict in question. Over the first five days of competition, Russian athletes secured a total of 31 medals, including seven golds, 14 silvers, and 10 bronzes. Among the gold medalists were swimmers Andrey Kalina, Roman Zhdanov, Dmitry Chernyaev, and Valeria Shabalina, runners Alexander Yaremchuk and Evgeny Torsunov, and pole vaulter Alexey Churkin. In the regular Olympics in Paris, a smaller number of Russian competitors participated, with notable performances from young athletes Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider in tennis. [citation: IPC results]