'Why am I competing when people in my country are dying?'

When Ukrainian climber Jenya Kazbekova was woken astatine 5am by nan sounds of bombs falling extracurricular her location successful Kyiv, she hardly had clip to process that her life was astir to change.

"It was 1 of nan astir horrifying experiences I've ever had successful my life," she said.

"I woke up, looked astatine my mum because we shared a chamber and was like, what was that? What are those sounds? And past it happened again.

"We pulled retired our phones and started looking connected societal media and location was news each complete that it started - explosions each complete Ukraine. I conscionable retrieve trying to battalion up my worldly and my hands would not extremity shaking."

Two years on, nan 27-year-old athletics climber is preparing to compete successful nan boulder and lead arena astatine nan Paris Olympics.

That is thing she could not ideate erstwhile she and her family joined millions who fled Ukraine aft Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale penetration of nan state successful February 2022.

"Everyone was leaving. Everyone was trying to escape. It was conscionable a horrible clip wherever you don't really person food, you don't really person thing and you're not allowed to stop," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Along pinch her sister and parents, Kazbekova drove for 4 days to scope Germany earlier having to hold for 2 days to transverse nan Polish border.

"You support going - sometimes you're successful this five-kilometre statement to nan separator and you move 5 metres each fewer minutes. You cannot sleep. You cannot decently return attraction of yourself," she said.

"We arrived successful Germany afloat exhausted, and moreover though it was a really difficult experience, we were still privileged capable to person nan anticipation to flight successful nan first spot because truthful galore group had to enactment behind."

Climbing remained nan 1 changeless for Kazbekova, her superior "coping mechanism" during a clip of upheaval and trauma.

She has since moved to Salt Lake City successful nan United States while her family settled successful Manchester.

But pinch her grandparents still backmost successful her hometown of Dnipro aft they made nan difficult determination to enactment successful Ukraine, Kazbekova said she felt "lost" getting connected pinch her life while knowing what was happening successful her location country.

Her coach Malik - who himself fled warfare successful his location state of Lebanon aged 18 - helped her to understand why it was still important to prosecute her dreams.

"He knew precisely what I was going done without moreover maine having to show him thing and he was nan personification that walked maine retired of my acheronian erstwhile I was conscionable emotion really mislaid for months," Kazbekova said.

"I didn't spot intent successful climbing. Why americium I doing competitions erstwhile group backmost successful my state are dying?

"He was nan personification that made maine realise really important it is that I do show up and if conscionable possibly I negociate to make a azygous personification attraction a small spot more, donate a small spot much that's each I tin inquire for."

For Kazbekova, climbing is not conscionable a sport. It's a "generational thing".

Her grandparents and parents each competed astatine world level successful nan athletics and Kazbekova recalls her parents taking her pinch them to world cups and championships.

"Climbing is really for illustration a portion of my family," she said. "It's nan point that kept maine sane during nan first months of nan war. That was nan only clip I could put my telephone down and ore connected myself and extremity updating nan news and extremity worrying and conscionable do what I love."

Now, Kazbekova's sights are firmly group connected this summer's Olympics successful Paris, wherever athletics climbing is appearing for conscionable nan 2nd time.

Kazbekova will make her Olympic debut arsenic she missed retired connected Tokyo 3 years agone aft suffering pinch wounded earlier testing affirmative for Covid, preventing her from competing astatine a qualifying arena which provided nan past opportunity to scope nan Olympics.

"Being successful Paris, being capable to put my Ukrainian azygous connected and show nan world really resilient Ukrainians tin beryllium - that's nan dream travel true. That's nan biggest information I person for now," she said.

Kazbekova booked her spot successful Paris done nan Olympic Qualifier Series successful Shanghai and Budapest past month, wherever she vanished sixth overall.

"How overmuch it intends correct now for Ukraine to person practice retired location successful nan world to support reminding group that we still request help, we still request support," she said.

"We are still struggling truthful overmuch and this fight, it matters."