Olympic style Independence Day in Lviv
Oleksandr USYK: “We need to promote sport and healthy lifestyle as well as the need for top quality education”
Lviv citizens will remember this year’s Independence Day first of all for the chance to meet athletes who worthily represented Ukraine at the Olympic Games in London. At the invitation of Mykhailo Kostiuk, head of the Lviv Oblast State Administration, Olympic champions and prize-winners celebrated this holiday in Lviv.
“There was very nice and warm atmosphere, it was clearly felt that Independence Day for the local residents is not just another day off but a real national holiday,” Oleksandr Usyk, Olympic boxing champion shared his impressions. The Day before the celebration the head of the Oblast State Administration presented Usyk with a certificate for 125,000 hryvnias.
“I was positively surprised to see so many people in embroidered shirts. It impressed me. In general, for me an embroidered shirt is a symbol of national dignity. I am convinced that every Ukrainian person, including members of the parliament, should wear this piece of clothing. It would be great if people would wear embroidered shirt to work because it is not just a symbol of our national identity, but also a very aesthetic piece of clothing – stylish, cool, and nice-looking. The person, who made the shirt for you, put his or her soul into it.”
According to Usyk, together with him a whole Olympic crew celebrated Independence Day in Lviv, among those people there were the chief coach of the national team of Ukraine Dmytro Sosnovsky, boxing bronze winners of the 30th Olympic Games in London Oleksandr Hvozdyk and Denys Berinchyk, and also local Olympic athletes – fencers and wrestlers.
“I am a patriot of my country. I am thankful to God that I was born here in Ukraine! I have a wife, family, relatives and friends here. We are all Ukrainians. Nobody deliberately imposed Ukrainian national idea for me. Nobody told me that I had to be a patriot and love my land. Somehow I arrived at this on my own. I come from an ordinary family: my mother is from Chernihiv oblast and my father is from Sumy. Don’t be surprised that there are conscious Ukrainians in the Crimea. Crimea is also a part of Ukraine. Some Crimean residents should not forget about this,” said Usyk. “Unfortunately, I should be honest, we have never had a tradition of celebrating Independence day in our family. As a rule, we go out to the main square, greet friends, call each other. In general, there is never enough time for any kind of celebration: I always take part in some sort of competition or training camps and also travel a lot. I rarely celebrate not only the Independence Day, but also my own birthday. For birthday party we usually buy five to ten cakes, depending on the number of people, and alcohol free champagne and for the coaches sometimes we get wine. This is how we also celebrated national holidays.”
Usyk told that Ukrainian athletes, actors, TV presenters, and other famous public figures have to inspire others to become better with their own example: “Everybody’s watching famous people closely, young people do not take their eyes off them. Therefore, these people have to be telling everyday that bad habits, like drinking alcohol, smoking, and taking drugs, are called bad for a reason. We need to promote sport and healthy lifestyle as well as the need for top quality education. If every Ukrainian child will be healthy and smart, our nation will have a great future.”
