We will be happy to see our athletes on the podiums, but I don't want to make predictions – Ukrainian sports minister Bidny
Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matviy Bidny has said Ukraine will be happy with any victories of Ukrainian athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy).
"Today we have 30 licenses. At all the last Winter Olympic Games we won a maximum of one medal, so I think we can track the trend and extrapolate to today’s conditions. Frankly speaking, the context does not allow us to talk about any rapid development. We will be happy if we see our athletes on the podiums, but I do not want to make any predictions. The Olympics are such competitions where an athlete can unexpectedly get a second wind and he will be able to surpass himself. I do not want to cast a spell, but we will be happy with any victories of our athletes," said Bidny in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency, answering the question of what his realistic expectations are from Ukrainian athletes at the 2026 Olympics.
When asked whether the Ukrainian House will operate in Italy, as it was in Paris-2024, the minister drew attention to the fact that there will be six locations in Italy, where all sports competitions are distributed, and it was decided that there was no point in doing any one location, because it would not be able to attract so much attention anyway.
"We agreed that this time we will concentrate on preparing for Los Angeles-2028," he added.
In addition, when asked whether there is a need to increase the prize money for Olympic awards or introduce any additional motivational measures, he noted that the prize money does not change, but they are fixed in dollars, so this is definitely not the time to revise them upwards.
"In addition, they are among the best, as far as I know, in the world. In fact, everything is always fine with the motivation of our athletes. We need to focus in another direction - to provide better conditions for the training of athletes. And this is what we are doing today within the framework of the development of sports science, new training and recovery methods, the launch of the Olympic Lab science park, where we conduct new types of research, exchange experience with the international sports and scientific community. This is where we are directing our efforts," the minister said.
Among other things, Bidny noted that there will be no flags of Russia or Belarus at Milan-Cortina, just like at the Olympics in Paris.
"All the symbols that may remind of these countries, in terms of national symbols, are simply prohibited. As for participation under a neutral flag, today we do not have information on how many athletes have been selected. But I think that it will be significantly less than their usual representation at the Olympic Games. Let me remind you that in Tokyo their team consisted of more than 300 athletes, and in Paris there were only 17 people. Now, perhaps, there will be a little more, because they have adapted, understood how we monitor their activity and are contacting international organizations that they do not meet the criteria for neutrality," he said.
As for whether Ukrainian athletes will receive any recommendations regarding possible competition with these so-called neutral athletes, he noted that there are no special recommendations.
"First of all, behave with dignity. Understand that the whole world is watching them today. I am convinced that each of our athletes is aware of their responsibility, because the opportunity to go to these competitions, to prepare for them, he gained only thanks to the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the Ukrainian people. And each athlete knows that he is a representative of our heroic country. It is clear that no one will even think of shaking hands and showing any signs of respect," the minister said.
As reported, at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games (February 6-22) in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy), athletes will compete for 195 medals in 16 Olympic sports.
The President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit expects that Ukraine will perform successfully at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy), as well as at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris (France). Ukraine, with 12 awards, took 22nd place in the medal standings of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Ukrainian home Volia Space at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (France) was visited by more than 15,000 guests
