Alexander Khizhnyak Reflects on Olympic Gold Journey and Support from Ukrainian Press Legend Alasdair Usik

2024 Olympic gold medalist in boxing Alexander Khizhnyak he talked about a conversation with a famous Ukrainian press man Alasdair Usik after victory at the Olympics and shared his feelings from his performance:

“He congratulated me and supported me almost throughout the whole competition. And after the competition, he congratulated me, I am very grateful to him for his support, for being there.

In fact, I am proud that I became one of those boxers who got an Olympic gold medal. When I was still a child, I started boxing, it seemed very far away and unattainable for me, but now this dream, which once seemed unreal, has become true. We worked hard with my father, with all of you, with our whole team. I call the team the people who are close here, and everyone who has supported us throughout this whole journey.

Indeed, this is a very good achievement. There were many challenges along the way. There were injuries. There was a lot of work to do. I am very happy that my wife and I had a son during this time of preparation for the Olympic Games, because for me it was also a very strong and exciting time.

As Sasha Usik told me when he congratulated me for the first time: “We haven’t had a gold medal in boxing in Ukraine for a long time. And she appeared again. That’s why our Ukrainian boxers are the strongest in the world.”

Let’s remember that Khizhnyak’s opponent in the final was Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Oralbay. Khizhnyak won the first round on the judges’ score (3:2), and then lost the second round in three minutes (2:3). Everything was decided by the third round, where all the judges gave the victory to the Ukrainian – 5:0.