Concerned over the future of his country, Ukranian wrestler Zhan Beleniuk announced his retirement after winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Belenuik, a gold and a silver medallist from the Tokyo Olympics 202 and Rio Olympics 2016, respectively, hung his wrestling boots to focus more on his political career. The 33-year-old beat Poland’s Arkadiusz Kulynycz 3-1in the bronze medal match in the Men’s -85 kg Greco-Roman event. For the unversed, Beleniuk became the first black member in the Ukrainian parliament in 2019.
After clinching a bronze at Paris 2024, Belenuik expressed his concerns about the future of Ukraine amidst war with Russia.
“Today, I am very happy that I can take the medal. But for me, as a Ukrainian citizen, as a Ukrainian athlete, it is very important that Ukraine should be in the future. Because we don’t know about our future, unfortunately,” Belenuik told the reporters.
“It was a beautiful career, and I wish everyone to have such a magnificent end of their career. That’s why this medal is so precious for me — I am sharing it with my country. I am sharing it with everyone who is at war now, with all the soldiers who protect our country and who protect our sleep,” he added.
Who is Zhan Beleniuk?
A three-time Olympic medallist, Belenuik was born in 1991 in Kyiv to a Rwandan father and a Ukranian mother. He began wrestling in 2000 when he was nine years old.
Back in 2019, during the Ukranian Parliamentary Elections, Belenuik was elected as a as a member of the Servant of the People political party.
Apart from his wrestling career, Belenuik has also served in Ukrain’s National Olympic Commitee, before resigning from the post in 2023 over a dispute with new president Vadym Gutzeit.
Belenuik is also a two-time world wrestling champion, while also clinching one silver and two bronze at the Worlds.
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