The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine recognized world champion in freestyle wrestling Yulia Tkach as the best athlete of September; she is better known in the sports world by her maiden name Ostapchuk. In his turn, the athlete’s mentor Andrii Pistun was named the best coach of September. Let us recall that our athlete won a medal of the highest kind in the weight class of 60 to 63 kilograms at the World Cup of Wrestling, held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The Day learned at the press service of the NOC of Ukraine that it was the highest achievement for any Ukrainian athlete in Olympic sports in September. Interestingly, Tkach returned from a maternity leave just this spring, and apart from the world gold, she managed to win a bronze medal at the European championship already, which was held in the city of Vantaa (Finland). The world champion was recognized by the NOC for the first time.
“I am very pleased to be recognized as the athlete of the month,” Yulia Tkach shared her feelings with The Day. “Such distinctions are important, because they stimulate people to work more and better still, providing moral and psychological motivation to strive for new victories. Moreover, I confess that getting the athlete of the month award was my old dream that has now come true. Ukraine today is at war, and every patriot can help the Fatherland by being as useful and professional as possible in their field. We athletes at least, have come to support this position and are not only supporting in every possible way via various fundraising campaigns the military who are fighting for our independence, but are also trying to achieve more in sports to defend the honor of Ukraine as one of the strongest nations in the world. It is hard to describe the emotions and feelings that flooded my mind when I was awarded a gold medal at the World Cup podium, and the anthem of Ukraine sounded and the national flag was raised up the flagpole... We are showing that Ukraine is a strong country, that we are one, invincible nation. The global sports community is expressing solidarity with us, sympathy and support for our struggle for complete victory.”
