Andrzej Duda opened the showcase at his Belweder Palace in Warsaw on Thursday afternoon, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Entitled Marathon of Solidarity: Polish Sport for Ukraine, the exhibition features photographs and testimonies of Ukrainian athletes who found refuge and opportunities to continue their careers in Poland, as well as of those who remained at home, forced to train at facilities damaged by Russian strikes.
‘Noble help for those in need’
In his speech, the president thanked Poland’s sporting community for deciding “to transform noble sporting rivalry into noble help for those in need.”
Duda said: “I thank Polish sports people for opening their world and helping their sporting rivals from Ukraine.”
He added: “I thank Ukrainian athletes for deciding to come to Poland and accept our help.”
Referring to a debate on whether Russian athletes should be allowed to compete in international events, amid the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, Duda said "it would mean a distortion of truth.”
He said: “We are seeking to do everything to make the world realise that sadly this war is being supported by Russian society. Athletes, too, bear responsibility for their country, banner and anthem.”
Irina Kowal, a race walker from the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, told the gathering that Russian aggression in her country started in 2014, forcing her to relocate to Kyiv.
Following last year’s full-scale invasion, she fled again, this time to Poland, where she now trains at Warsaw’s RK Athletics club.
Kowal said: “I thank Poland for allowing me to train here, and also for giving employment to our coaches,” the PAP news agency reported.
The Marathon of Solidarity: Polish Sport For Ukraine exhibition is intended to serve as a reminder "that the war in Ukraine rages on, depriving people of their lives, freedom and the chance to realise their dreams, including sporting ones," organisers said.
At the same time, the showcase “highlights the power of fair play, protests against breach of rules, and documents the strength of fellowship in the sporting world,” according to presidential officials.
Guests at Thursday’s launch included Sports Minister Kamil Bortniczuk, whose ministry co-financed the exhibition, reporters were told.
Thursday was day 372 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl, polskieradio24.pl