ARTEM KRAITOR

• Odessa, Ukraine
• Age: 19
• Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 12

Artem Kraytor is 17, from Odessa, Ukraine, and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 12 years old. He began training to race bicycles the same year at a local government sport academy.

Artem, pronounced Ar-tyom, took second place in the 2009 Ukrainian Junior National Championships in the road race, and finished second in the criterium at the Ukraine Cup junior stage race. His hometown Odessa is a hilly, seaside city with around 1.5 million residents, and has a climate similar to Washington D.C.

“The sport academies are selective boarding schools that take on kids for a career in sport. Thanks to cycling and the long hours of training I have been able to control my sugar levels without having to inject insulin as often as a less active diabetic. I still measure the blood glucose levels six or ten times a day, but my advice to others with diabetes is to take the first steps towards managing your disease and get out on a bike.”

“It’s important to get out and win races as a diabetic, because it proves to others and to myself that diabetes is not a prison sentence. Just showing up at races is the first victory, and as a team for us to work together and bring a rider across the line with his arms in the air is a loud message to the world that you can manage this condition and go on to live your dreams."