Ukrainian surfer Anastasiia Temirbek feels support of global community

Ukrainian surfer Anastasiia Temirbek wasn't sure she would make it to this week's ISA World Surfing Games, a Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier being held in Huntington Beach, California.

As Temirbek tried to prepare for what would be her second appearance at the event, her mind was elsewhere. She tried to train but all she could think about was her country, her family and friends, fighting for independence.

"When they announced the competitions, at first, I was thinking I definitely cannot make it because I don't feel any energy," Temirbeck said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com ahead of the event. "When it was in the water, I wasn't... I couldn't surf, you know, I couldn't think about surfing, about myself and all the rest."

The 31-year-old found the sport in an unexpected place: a 2015 trip to Sri Lanka. Temirbek was slowly becoming part of what she describes as a boarding community - skateboarders, wakeboarders, and, of course, surfers.

They told her about the trip and she couldn't resist. She was hooked from the start.

"I fell in love from the first try in this sport and I was like, 'Oh my God, I really want to learn it,'" said Temirbeck.

Though not known for its beaches, Ukraine does have waves, says Temirbek, especially in the Black Sea on its southern border. That's where - in Odessa - the nation organised its first surfing competition back in 2018. The first year was men only, but in 2019, with women part of the competition, she took part.

"I just prepared for my heat and I won the competition," she recalled of that first event. "I caught five waves, I guess, and yeah, it was a good score in comparison with all the rest girls and and after that I got actually some inspiration from my friends [to keep competing.]"

Read more: Here is everything you need to know about the ISA World Surfing Games.

You can watch it on Olympic Channel via our live stream on Olympics.com.

Looking for focus

But that seemed in doubt as she struggled to train and push away thoughts of her home country under attack. So, her focus shifted away from competing. She started to work on the logistics of helping the rest of her teammates take part in the event.

Ironically, that helped bring Temirbeck back to the sport.

"I started to help a little bit the Federation, to organise the rest of the team," she explained. "I was asking my friends, distributing the information that we are trying to collect (for) the team and starting to train. Basically, I helped my body and mind to get back to normal. I realised, 'Okay, now I can help, now I can do something not only for myself.'"

A native of the eastern border town of Mariupol, Temirbek had friends and family stuck in the city when fighting began earlier this year.

"The first two, three months was really tough," she admitted. "I couldn't do anything. I was reading the news, I was checking. I was trying to come up with the plan, how to get them out and not having the connection. It was really, really hard."

Slowly, the news improved. She heard first from her sister on 14 March that she was getting out of the city. Then, two weeks later, a message from her brother came that contained a confusing update: he was leaving with his family, but her parents wished the remain back in the city.

"I was so happy to hear that my brother, my brother with his family, that first, they're alive and they have an ability to get out and at the same time, I see that my father is staying there where still war is happening and it's not safe," said Temirbek. "In one more month, I got the messages, and I started to get videos with my father that he's fine and with my mother. I saw that they are alive and they handle it.

"When my family was safe," she continued. "I was like, 'Okay, let's move on,' but it took some time to to recover."

Now, the Ukrainian finds herself at a global event with a new community ready to show its support.

"There is huge world that supports Ukraine. It's priceless. We do appreciate it so much," said Temirbek. "I'm very grateful from my side, from all the Mariupol and from all Ukraine for this whole world support and for that opening ceremony. I saw it not just like a picture in my mind, but here in in reality, everybody was standing for Ukraine."