Ukrainian athlete wins gold at Invictus Games before raising flag with emotional plea

Victory at the delayed fifth edition of the Games, but his support remained with those in his homeland

Ihor Halushka won gold for Ukraine at the Invictus Games, before raising a flag and sending a message to the besieged city of Mariupol in his home nation.

Participating in the indoor rowing, Halushka won the Men’s IR3 event after clocking up 1,121 metres in four minutes.

At the Hague, where the Games are taking place, the rower then lofted a Ukrainian flag with “save Mariupol” written across it.

“My brothers-in-arms fight in Mariupol with little food and ammunition,” he was reported as saying by Euromaidan Press.

“Thanks to their courage and strength, I’m able to fight and win here!”

The city of Mariupol has been under attack by Russian forces and marines have appealed on Wednesday to Western nations that they have only “hours” left before it falls, as they call for “extraction” to a neutral state.

(Getty Images for Invictus Games)

As a port city which would provide a corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, Mariupol is seen as a key strategic target for Vladimir Putin’s forces.

The Invictus Games, returning for its fifth edition after a two-year absence, is an international sports event for “wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women” who compete across ten sports.

Prince Harry launched the Games in 2014 and both he and Meghan Markle have been in attendance in the Netherlands this week.

Halushka was injured while rescuing a fellow serviceman who was being shot at, taking a bullet through the head and part of the brain which left him facing a lengthy recovery - yet five years on, he has taken top spot on the podium and is sending support back to his homeland.