Zhanna, Galician rowing champion: “The best celebration would be for the war to end and for me to take the medal to my family in Ukraine”

– As soon as I finished, I called my mother. that was done by a Ukrainian Zhanna Nelinawhich will turn 14 in May, after the announcement Galician children’s indoor rowing champion championship held last Sunday in Marin. his mother is inside Snows (Chernihiv)almost 3800 kilometers from Ribadeowhere she lives. It is an area that Russia occupied for a year, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. “The feeling was very happy and I wanted to tell her so that she would be proud of me,” the athlete from rowing club ribadense

Zhanna was the fastest in Galicia, running 1000 meters on an ergometer, a simulation machine that allows you to train and compete in seasons that are less suitable for rowing in water. Being the champion of Galicia is a great merit in itself, but her title is especially relevant if you take into account that the Ukrainian teenager started playing this sport two years ago, and that In July last year, he received permission – like other Ukrainian teenagers – from the Higher Sports Council (CSD) to participate in the federal championships..

“It was a very tight finish, I beat my teammate by a few seconds, Charlotte Pena. I thought she would win, because she is very good. I didn’t expect that, it was a surprise. The coach shouted at me not to stop, that I was doing very well and that I was the first, but the truth is that I thought he was saying that just to cheer me up”, smiles Zhanna, who, as if that was not enough, was also declared runner-up Galician relays in the same category. He was a member of the foursome of the Ribadeo Rowing Club, winner of the silver medal, together with Peña, Carmen Vazquez and Martina Castro. “Our changes went a little wrong and I almost fell, but luckily we were second in the end,” he says. Anton Balša and Irene Garcia they also won medals in their respective categories.

Zhanna enjoys rowing. “It’s more expensive in the water, but the ergometer is good for me. I really like doing sports and I really like the people from the Ribadeo Rowing Club, there is a great atmosphere among everyone”, he points out. He trains three to four days a week, two hours a day. For this sports discipline, he points out that you need to be consistent and believes that the most important thing is “technique more than resistance, and in relays, making changes well”. he trains her Mauricio Monteserinwho rowed at the Olympic Games in Athens, and the president of the entity, Miguel Rafthe emphasizes his ability to learn, self-demanding and friendship.

Sport became a salve for the minor who was taken to Ribadeo by the invasion of Ukraine, where she spent her summers in foster care thanks to the program Association of Babies of Ukraine Galicia. In 2021, his family decided that he would stay to study. He arrived at A Mariña a few months ago Nadia, one of his sisters, who is twelve years old and lives with her usual foster family in the summer. Another one of his brothers is inside Majorca. Mother, her husband, who was invited, and three brothers aged five, four and two and a half remained in Chernigov.

In this situation, the oar relieves the anxiety of war. “That helps me more than studying,” he laughs quietly. Studied second from ESO IES Dionisio Gamallo.

“At home, we perceive the conflict as another routine, but the feeling is boredom. Due to economic and political interests, it is being dragged out, there is no real intention to end the war, and great damage is being caused,” says Zhanna’s foster mother. Beatriz Irigoyen, who complains that «the girl cannot set a goal, such as seeing her mother at the end of the course. If adults need to see their loved ones, imagine her,” he adds.

Let’s hope the war ends, Zhanna silently wishes. The best way to celebrate a gold medal would be “to be able to take it to Ukraine”. Her mother told her she was “very proud of me,” she says. Not for less.