One year after the Games: Olga Kharlan, wave runner

Medalists, artists, and organizers all made their mark on the Parisian Olympic salvo. What impact did it have on their lives and careers? Key figures from the Games agreed to rekindle the flame for Libération.

Her eyes—blue—are a little drawn, the features of Kyivians when a fragile calm follows the nights of hustle and bustle. But she smiles unfeignedly, at the cafe, in the azure morning of a cobbled alley in central Kyiv. Earlier, for seven hours, the Russian Air Force dropped 550 drones and missiles on the burning city, killing two and wounding 26. "I didn't fall asleep until 4 a.m.," admits Olga Kharlan, who spent the dawn watching the whirling projectiles on Telegram channels.

On the left bank of the Dnieper, where the fencer bought an apartment a few years ago, it's been a never-ending duel that has been going on for three years. "But after a night like this, I see people living their lives, saying thank you for a new day, thanking our air force," the young woman says. "We have to live, because Russia can take our lives at any moment. We're not going to sleep, but we're going to fight, smile, and sometimes cry too."