Love and Victory in the Big Air: Ukrainian Skier's Unforgettable Olympic Moment
For most athletes, securing a spot in their first Olympic final would be the pinnacle of a career-defining night. For Ukrainian freeskier Kateryna Kotsar, it was merely the beginning of an extraordinary Valentine's Day celebration that culminated in a surprise marriage proposal.
A Night of Dual Triumphs
After completing her third qualifying run in the freeski big air competition at the Winter Olympics, Kotsar's evening took an unexpected romantic turn. Her boyfriend, Bohdan Fashtryha, dropped to one knee on the snow and proposed in their native Ukrainian language.
"He said in Ukrainian, do I want to marry him, nothing else," Kotsar revealed, still visibly emotional. "He was nervous. It was so cute. I'm still excited and can't understand what happened tonight, because it's two really huge things for me."
The 25-year-old from Kyiv flashed her new diamond ring while expressing her complete surprise at the proposal. "Usually I have some feelings that something great will happen," she admitted. "Today I had the feeling, but I thought it was about making the finals."
Olympic Qualification Amid Personal Challenges
Kotsar's journey to the Olympic final has been marked by both athletic determination and personal resilience. Finishing 11th in qualifying, she will now compete against defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu and ten other elite athletes in Monday's big air final.
Her preparation has been complicated by the ongoing situation in Ukraine. "You live without electricity, without heating, without the opportunity to wash your clothes and do some pretty simple things," Kotsar explained about conditions back home. "Usually, most of our training on snow, we do abroad, in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, but I still have enough time in Ukraine to do some gym and trampoline training."
Political Statements and Olympic Controversy
The Ukrainian skier's evening included more than just athletic and personal milestones. After qualifying, Kotsar wrote "freedom of memory" on her glove as a protest against the ban of her compatriot Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified for wearing images of slain athletes on his helmet.
This follows another recent controversy where Kotsar revealed the International Olympic Committee barred her from using a custom helmet with the inscription "Be Brave like Ukrainians" at the Milano Cortina Games. "About a week before the Olympic Games, I received an email saying that the International Olympic Committee considers this helmet to be propaganda, which means I cannot compete in it at the Games," she disclosed.
"Due to a lack of certain experience, knowledge, and probably confidence, I simply changed the helmet, and now it just has a small Ukrainian flag on it," Kotsar added, highlighting the complex intersection of sports and politics at international competitions.
Looking Ahead to the Final
Despite the emotional whirlwind of her engagement and the political statements, Kotsar remains focused on her upcoming competition. "I had a bad feeling yesterday, I felt sick," she confessed about her pre-qualifying nerves. "For today, my biggest goal was to complete and make clean runs, but they were clean enough to be in the final. Now I am full of energy."
As she prepares to face the world's best freeskiers, Kotsar carries with her not just the hopes of Olympic glory but also the thoughts of her compatriots in Ukraine. Her Valentine's Day proposal has added a deeply personal chapter to what was already a significant athletic achievement, creating a story that transcends sports and speaks to human resilience and joy in challenging times.
