A military man from Vinnytsia won 1st place in the race at the Invincible Games

Vinnytsia native Mykola Rudik participated in the qualifying competitions for Ukraine's Unconquered Games. The serviceman secured the first place in the 1500-meter race, covering the distance in 4 minutes and 50 seconds.

This year, participants competed in 9 sports: table tennis, athletics (running, long jump, and shot put), powerlifting, rowing on simulators, archery, cycling, swimming, wheelchair basketball, and sitting volleyball.

Mykola Rudik was a participant in the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv. On the night of February 18-19, 2014, while evacuating the wounded from the fire-engulfed Trade Unions Building, he was injured. A grenade exploded in front of him, some shrapnel got stuck in his body armor, and some hit his face, knocking out three teeth.

During his recovery, he underwent surgery, and the shrapnel was removed. Mykola later decided to join the territorial defense battalion.

According to Mykola Rudik, his participation in the Unconquered Games was a tribute to the memory of the fallen heroes and a way to prove to himself that injuries and trauma should not hold him back.

"Victory for me means the daily struggle, primarily with myself. I always want to be useful to Ukraine and its people. We all must understand that in this war against the Moscow invasion, we are reclaiming our right to independent existence as a nation in the world," the serviceman shared.

Another participant in the competition was 21-year-old Vinnytsia native Veniamin Bondarchuk, a marine who lost his leg last year in an explosion while clearing mines in the Kherson region. His wife registered him for the Unconquered Games, and he competed in swimming, athletics, and wheelchair basketball.

Traditionally, despite the fact that winners were selected in each category, all participants in the competition received medals. This was done to emphasize that everyone who joined the games is already a winner.