Russia, which historically has sent larger delegations to the Games, has just 15 athletes competing in Paris —and they won’t officially be representing Russia. Russia and key ally, Belarus were banned from sending national teams, so athletes approved to compete from those countries will do so under neutral status, including tennis star Daniil Medvedev.

While the International Olympic Committee has invited dozens of Russian and Belarusian athletes across a variety of disciplines —including swimming, weightlifting and wrestling— to participate in this year’s Olympics, many of them rejected the organisation’s invitation.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Guttsait said Ukraine’s efforts to reduce the number of Russian and Belarusian athletes began with the 2022 invasion, and they have steadily pressed on until the start of the Games.

"During the war, they have no place in the international world," Guttsait said. "Because every day our people, women and children are killed. Every day they bomb us, and the missiles are flying over our country."

"It’s nothing," Guttsait said about Russia’s limited presence at the 2024 Olympics. "It’s already a victory."

Russian athletes’ showing in Paris is a big change from the Tokyo Games, where Russia had more than 300 athletes participating under the rebranded team name ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) because of a doping scandal. They won 71 medals.

The following year, Russia invaded its neighbouring country beginning with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. At the end of 2022, Ukraine faced missile strikes on its energy infrastructure and spent long winter hours in darkness. It was during that time that Guttsait started noticing signals that Russian and Belarusian athletes might be allowed to participate in the Paris Games.

Ukrainian authorities complained that it was unacceptable for Russian athletes to compete at one of the world’s most prestigious sports events, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Guttsait to prevent it. Guttsait held meetings with representatives of national Olympic committees, wrote letters and took part in Ukraine’s International Summit of Sports Ministers.

"It was painstaking work where every day we received feedback from those who either supported us or not," he said.

For the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee set specific criteria for Russian athletes to qualify, including whether they publicly supported Russia’s war.

While in Paris, Guttsait attends competitions every day to support the athletes, donning a Panama hat with a Ukrainian coat of arms and Olympic rings. But Ukrainians cannot leave the war experience at home, and perhaps that made Friday’s opening ceremony along the Seine River even more memorable.

"When we were sailing dressed in yellow and blue colours, with our flag. … It was rewarding, and that people stood up and greeted us with applause," he recalled. "Our mission at the Olympics is to remind the world that Ukraine survived."