An officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine proposed to freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar after she reached the Olympic Games final

Ukrainian freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar received a marriage proposal from her fiancé, an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after her historic qualification for the 2026 Olympic Games final, UNN reports with reference to the NOC and Suspilne Sport.

Details

Ukrainian freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar overcame a dramatic qualification in big air at the XXV Winter Olympic Games. Despite difficult weather conditions and not feeling her best in recent days, Kateryna showed character: after two confident attempts, she held on to a qualifying spot until the very end and secured a place in the final with the 11th best result. Thus, the 2025 Big Air World Cup silver medalist reached Ukraine's first-ever Olympic final in this discipline.

In a comment for "Suspilne Sport," Kateryna spoke about her emotions after reaching the final, her health, and the unexpected proposal from her fiancé — an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

About emotions and well-being

"It's just an incredibly beautiful night and many events. I still can't process either one or the other (events), so I'll answer this question a little later. Of course not, who knows about the proposal? Honestly, I've been feeling terrible for the last couple of days, and I was very happy to wake up feeling energized to perform. I thought that the biggest victory would be just to perform, to perform well. It seems I succeeded," Kateryna Kotsar said.

About conditions and the Olympic jump

"Indeed, a wonderful jump, great snow conditions. It snowed all day, and I was worried all day that it would stop before our competition, because snow during jumps doesn't help at all. And the snow conditions are superb, and the jump itself is great — everything is great," the athlete noted.

About the action in support of Vladyslav Heraskevych

After her performance, Kateryna showed the camera the inscription "Freedom of memory" on her glove: "Honestly, when Vladyslav was disqualified, it really became a very sad event for me, I was deeply affected by it. I even thought that I needed to do something very serious. But eventually, these thoughts started to wear me out a bit. So I settled on an idea that sounded the most cool, harmonious, and understandable to me. And right before the third attempt, I made this inscription."

Olympics 2026: Today Ukrainians will compete for medals in two sports15.02.26, 08:27 • 2620 views