Ukrainian Ivan made his Mark with gold medals at English Open

A YOUNG boy who fled his home in Ukraine following the Russian invasion and the subsequent war, has won international gold medals after training in St Mark’s Taekwon-do School.

Ivan Bondarchuk (12) has lived in Citywest Hotel with his parents Valerii and Oksana, and younger sister Vladana since arriving in Ireland in July 2022.

Enrolled in Solas Chríost National School in Belgard, Ivan has a penchant for taekwondo ever since picking the sport up when he was just seven years old.

Originally from Kyiv, Ivan became a multi-time prize winner in local and national competitions in Ukraine and was gearing up to represent his nation at the World Cup prior to its cancellation due to increased international tensions.

After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Bondarchuk family had to leave their home.

“With the war in Ukraine, we were forced to leave our country and had to fly somewhere else that was safe, so we came to Ireland,” Valerii, Ivan’s father, tells The Echo.

“Our home in Ukraine is a critical object due to no electricity and heating, this is due to Russian shelling every month, it is destroyed to ruin.”

Possible conscription is an element for all men in Ukraine aged 18- to 60-years-old who are fit and able to join the military.

Two of Ivan’s older siblings were required to stay due to the conscription protocol in Ukraine’s war effort.

However, Valerii was able to leave with his wife and younger children.

“I was in war, I was a soldier fighting the Russians when this conflict started in 2014.

“But I was injured,” Valerii says.

Shortly after arriving in Ireland, Ivan started attending classes in St Mark’s Taekwon-do School multiple times a week and he was spotted by national junior coach, grandmaster Robert Howard.

A month after starting in St Mark’s, grandmaster Howard invited Ivan to attend weekly sparring classes at his school in Cabra.

“Ivan wanted to take part in the European Championships, which starts April 17, but he cannot take part as he needs to have a red belt,” Valerii explains.

“If he cannot take part in this, Master Howard asked him to take part in the English Open instead on March 11th and 12th, in Guildford near London.

“There were athletes from Scotland, Wales, England, Republic of Ireland and Poland taking part in the English Open.

“Ivan won two gold medals, one in patterns and one in sparring, which he took home to Ireland.

“I am very proud of him.”

At home in Ukraine, Ivan would typically train six times a week – such is his passion for taekwondo.

Now, Ivan trains in St Mark’s three times per week and once per week in Grandmaster Howard’s Taekwon-do School, and his efforts are starting to bear fruit.

Making up for lost time, Ivan also trains taekwondo at home in Citywest Hotel and his commitment to the sport is starting to influence his sister Vladana (7), who is picking up a few moves.

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