(HAMMOND, Ind.) – Part of Ukraine’s Olympic team is coming to Hammond to train.
Governor Holcomb offered to host Ukraine’s Olympians in March after the Russian invasion. The country’s Greco-Roman wrestling team has accepted. Players and coaches will train at Hammond Central High School for the next four weeks.
Megan Goodan, sports development manager for the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, says the team’s Hoosier visit isn’t directly related to the war — she says the wrestlers plan to return home after the end of training camp August 3. She says the team usually trains alongside the U-S team in Colorado, but there were scheduling conflicts this year.
Goodan says the Ukrainian team works with a coach in Chicago, so the Indiana Sports Corporation reached out to the authority about placing the team in easy reach. Hammond Central opened a new athletic complex last year, with a dedicated wrestling room. The Ukrainian team will have access to the room as well as the gym, pool, weight room, track, and football field.
Ukraine has won seven medals in Greco-Roman wrestling since gaining its independence in 1991, including two at the Tokyo Games two years ago.
