Merkushyna Breaks Olympic Phone — A Human Story About Sport, Brands and Social Media
A few days after showcasing the Olympic Samsung, biathlete Oleksandra Merkushyna posted a photo of a cracked screen. We examine what happened and why it deserves attention.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
February 11, 2026 · 1 min read
Briefly
According to UNN, Ukrainian biathlete Oleksandra Merkushyna posted on Instagram a photo of a phone with a cracked screen that she received as a participant in the 2026 Olympic Games. Earlier the athlete had shown this Olympic version of Samsung with a unique design.
"I received this phone as a participant in the Olympic Games. It's a special Olympic version of Samsung with a unique design"
— Oleksandra Merkushyna, biathlete
Social media reaction
Followers reacted instantly: comments ranged from jokes to sympathy. Some reactions were typical internet humor, others expressed concern about the athlete's safety and the safekeeping of gifts.
"A werewolf attacked", "Did you fend off Spider‑Man with the phone?", "A ritual farewell to the old phone?"
— comments by followers on Instagram
Context
At the end of January, the Ukrainian team won the first gold medal at the 2026 European Biathlon Championships in Shusheni. Anastasia Merkushyna became the champion of the individual race — a fact that underscores the strength of the Ukrainian biathlon school and media attention to our athletes.
Why it matters
At first glance — a story about a broken gadget. But there are several important implications: the symbolic weight of gifts after the Olympics, questions of safety and preservation of athletes' belongings, and how instant social media reactions shape an athlete's public image. For teams and brands, it's an opportunity to review communication approaches and rules for handling gifts.
Conclusion
The incident does not affect sporting results, but it highlights the human side of athletes and the power of digital publicity. The question is simple: how to turn such moments into support rather than a source of unnecessary noise? For now the fact remains — there was a gift, the phone was broken, the internet reacted.
