(VANCOUVER, British Columbia) — Oleksii Tiunin, a Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg in Russia’s war, has become known in his adopted Canadian home as an undefeated sportsman.
He was the captain of this year’s Ukrainian national team at the Invictus Games, which included the largest-ever Ukrainian delegation in February in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
“If someone had told me during my rehabilitation about such an event as these games, I would not have believed it was possible at first,” said Tiunin, 37.
The veteran of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which participates it the most brutal battles with the Russian invaders, was badly injured by the enemy gunfire near Andriivka, Donetsk region, in August 2023.
Because of a delayed evacuation, he said, he lost his leg. He works today as a TV presenter.
But here, in British Columbia, this veteran from Kharkiv region is already known as a man of a strong spirit.
Earlier this year, a team of 35 injured Ukrainian soldiers won 30 medals, and finished on the fourth place in total medal count behind the U.S.’s 53, the United Kingdom’s 38 and Australia’s 36. The 12 gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals marked the country’s second-best result at the Invictus Games.
“We came here to have fun and show the strength of Ukrainian people, get some medals, meet new people, chat with them, enjoy sightseeing and relax,” Tiunin told ABC News after the closing ceremony.
Due to his observations, the attitude towards the Ukrainian team was special: “Each of us got much more out of this trip than we expected — we had only good and positive emotions here.”
Tiunin describes the attitude to Ukrainian team as a combination of attention and respect, that has obviously close connection to the war in Ukraine that started over three years ago with the Russian full-scale invasion.
“I think people understand that a brutal war is currently going on in our country, and if we take into account other participants of the games, none of them was involved in such a war as we, Ukrainians are,” said the veteran.
According to Tiunin, the Ukrainian team was warmly supported not only by the representatives of the diaspora, but also by Canadians on the streets of Vancouver.
In late 2024, the Economist estimated that nearly 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers were injured and were unable to return to the front line.
One of the injured is Serhii Hordiievych, 38, the golden medalist in alpine skiing this year in Whistler.
A veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Volyn region in western Ukraine, he used to work as a physical education teacher at a local college and then as a repairman in France — before joining the military.
In May 2022, Hordiievych was injured during his battalion counteroffensive near the village of Vesele in the Kharkiv region.
“I fell on my back and felt that my legs are getting stiff – I only managed to look around to check if there was an enemy somewhere around and then called my comrades for help,” he recalls.
According to Hordiievych’s memories, from the very first seconds he was full of faith that he would survive: “I just closed my eyes and fainted with a smile on my face, in pure and sincere confidence that everything is going to be fine.”
He suffered a spinal cord injury, and despite the long rehabilitation process, Hordiievych is still unable to walk – quite a disaster for a young man with great passion to sport.
“Before joining the army, I used to play soccer for three or even five times a week – always ready and accepting any proposal to compete,” said the veteran.
But the Invictus Games 2025 in Whistler were his first-ever real competition or big games ever. Hordiievych said he was inspired by his friend, and Invictus Games 2022 Ukrainian team member, Serhii Kalytiuk. Despite a similar injury, Kalytiuk continues to excel in sports.
Now he practices archery, table tennis and even works as a coach of the national para-tennis team.
“At the very beginning I had no idea how I should live from now on,” said Hordiievych. “But my comrade visited me in the hospital and helped me a lot – although his injury was much worse in comparison to mine, he provided a personal example, proving that it is possible to overcome it.”
Kalytiuk showed Hordiievych how to drive a car – at that time, something unthinkable for people with traumas like theirs: “That is how I restarted myself once again to renew my will for life,” Hordiievych said.
And that is probably why his first-ever trip to the American continent brought him and Ukraine a gold medal on alpine skiing, although he was not even proposed to participate in these games.
It was Hordiievych’s wife, Tetiana, who literally forced him to join the national team. According to him, she said: “Let me have you registered, we will go to the national tryouts and check if it fits you or not and then you will decide it yourself if it is worth it.”
So, she registered Hordiievych and wrote him a motivational letter, which he read in front of the camera, and sent it out without any firm belief he would be added to the team’s roster. in success.
But Hordiievych was invited for the tryouts in Kyiv: “It was some special vibe there, I felt as if I was among my people, as if I belonged here, the atmosphere was very relaxing and I liked it,” he says.
And the results were announced on Hordiievych’s birthday. “On that day I received lots of calls with greetings – I was nonstop thanking everybody wondering, how they knew it was my birthday, as I have deleted my birthday information from my social media profiles everywhere,” he remembered.
At some point, when Hordiievych heard the next “My congratulations!” from the archery coach, who he didn’t know well, he asked her: “Ms. Lesia, how do you know that it is my birthday?” And the answer was: “I know nothing about your birthday – you’re on the national team!”
“That was how I became a member of the team,” Hordiievych says with a smile on his face.
Right before the games, during six days of practice in Bukovel, a ski resort in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, Hordiievych was facing a tremendous challenge – to learn how to ski.
“For the first two days I was not able to make a simple turn or even balance myself properly, but thanks to my coaches and other joint efforts, we managed to help me overcome myself and we did it,” he said.
New sport discipline helped Hordiievych to feel the same positive emotions he used to feel when he was skiing before the war, and that was probably the turning point that made the champion in Whistler.
According to Hordiievych, it was an unforgettable moment, when he arrived at the finish line and his coach, leaning forward over the net, shouted: ‘Serhii, you are the winner!’
“At first, I thought that the coach was just cheering me up and supporting, because at the third turn I slowed down a bit, lost some speed and was almost sure that others will have much better results,” says Hordiievych.
But his coach then repeated: “You beat them all by three seconds.” And it was such an incredible feeling for Hordiievych once he understood that he is the champion.
Besides this moment of glory and fame, Hordiievych said, he will always remember Canadian Rockies: “It was unreal panoramic view when my coaches and the instructor took me to the peak over 2000 meters high here in BC.”
Another memorable moment for Hordiievych was his meeting with Prince Harry. As he recalls, “On the last day of the games he was sitting down near me with a child of my comrade on his knees, and that is how I get this memorable image.”
Now, after the Games, Hordiievych said he plans to continue alpine skiing, and he also started to play table tennis.
Although his spinal cord injury is a complicated trauma and needs a very sophisticated treatment and long adaptation, he still hopes for complete recovery.
“I am confident that one day I will walk again, because I must dance with my daughter – first at her graduation party and then at her wedding,” he said.
It looks as if the whole Invictus Games Ukrainian national team consists of people with strong faith and unbreakable will.
“A person with a disability because of war. A person with unlimited capabilities! Learning to live with a prosthesis!” – that is how Tiunin describes himself on his Instagram profile.
And that is how he is trying to help other injured veterans to deal with their traumas.
Tiunin clearly understands that not everyone will be able to accept new life immediately and be ready to compete with other veterans at the next Invictus Games.
As a captain of the National team and the veteran, he said, there should be not even a single chance for surrender.
“You don’t have to fall into despair, you just have to survive this difficult stage of treatment, rehabilitation, not give up, believe in yourself, train and strive for greater heights,” he said.
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