DIANÀ KOVALCHUK, HORSE RIDING
Dianà Kovalchuk, the young Ukrainian model, got into horse riding through her grandad, Ivan. “He had two horses, Borsa and Basil, and would give me some riding lessons during my summer holidays in his village”, she says. Initially, she had a fear of falling off, but received a piece of invaluable advice: “Never look down when you’re on a horse, as it might make your head spin”. She doesn’t look down, and now has begun to master jumping with her horse Piccolo Sogno (“Little Dream” in Italian).
Her not-so-little dream is to represent her birth country in show jumping at the Olympics. Or, failing that: “Maybe I’ll just have my own stable with a few horses. I do not plan that far ahead, I like to focus more on the present. But I am sure horse riding will be in my life”.
LENNY KRAGBA, ARCHERY
How many people working in the world of fashion also have a love of archery? Lenny Kragba, the Côte d’Ivoire-born model who currently resides in London, might just be one of the only ones. Kragba developed his passion for the bow early, when he went to a summer holiday camp where he “got to try a variety of different sports”. Archery stuck.
Today, Kragba is a busy boy: “I recently founded an AI startup which I’m really passionate and excited about”, he says. He’s also recently developed an interest in screen-writing and directing, after being cast “in several film productions” over the past few years. But in between the modelling, the acting, and the tech startups, Kragba still finds time for toxophilia. “I’ve succeeded in improving my accuracy in just a few lessons”, he says “Now I’m putting the arrow in the middle after an hour or so from 15 metres away”.
MAHLAH, FOOTBALL
Football has an accessibility problem. “Especially in the women’s game. In England, there just isn’t much diversity”, Mahlah, the model and creative, says. “Also, it would be great to see more trans and non-binary people allowed to participate in the sport. I would love to see football deal with these institutional problems”.
Mahlah has been playing football since primary school, where they would hone their skills in the playground with tennis balls. It wasn’t long before they were trialling with professional clubs, and soon found themselves playing internationally. “I was 13, playing for the England U15s against the Netherlands”, they say. In terms of their style of play, it’s Ronaldinho, the buck-toothed Brazilian wizard, who inspires Mahlah the most. “He always had a smile on his face, and never took things too seriously”.
SAMARA LANGHAM, DANCE
Samara Langham, the talented young dancer, says her proudest achievement to date is making her international debut as a choreographer. “One of my recent choreographed works HAKU has been invited to be performed at the Théâtre Paris-Villette in May next year”, she says.It’s the culmination of years of hard work from Langham, who got into dance from watching Michael Flatley videos as a child. “Eventually, aged seven, I started ballet classes”, she says. “After years of ballet training, I moved into contemporary dance, where I found an increased freedom and authenticity in my movement. Since then I have discovered a love for choreographing which allows me to be creative within dance”.
The ultimate goal for Langham is to set up her own dance company. “I want to bring people together that I love and who inspire me – dancers, musicians and producers. To dance, to choreograph and share this with audiences all over the world, this would be the dream”.
LUCA MINALE, LONG DISTANCE RUNNING
Running is in Luca Minale’s blood. “My mum competed for East Germany in long distance running”, he says. His father was a rower, but when it came to his path, Minale says that he “tried almost every sport, but running came the most naturally”. From an early age, he was breaking records, winning everything that there was to win in the Islington Schools Running League for his school, Mossbourne Academy. Now aged 21, his proudest achievement, obviously, the “European Final from earlier this year. It was my first time repping the national vest and to make a European final was amazing”.
What does the future hold for someone so talented? “In five years time I really hope to be in a pro team and to have athletics as my full time career”, he says – he’s currently studying animation at university. “It’s also 2028 in five years, and that’s an Olympic year, so that’s the ultimate goal. To be toeing the line for an Olympic final would be mind blowing”. And given Minale’s extraordinary career to date, you’d be hard pushed to bet against that happening.
