The head of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, Vasily Titov, said that the organization will do everything possible to support the...
The head of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, Vasily Titov, said that the organization will do everything possible to support the Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, against whom the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) opened a disciplinary case.
Kuliak is facing disciplinary action after wearing his nation's war symbol Z on his uniform while competing at the 2022 Doha World Cup last week.
The Z stands for Za Pobedu or "For Victory", as per a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian gymnast competed on the parallel bars where he won the bronze medal. He shared the podium with Ukrainian Illia Kovtun (gold) and Kazakh Milad Karimi (silver), who is engaged to Ukrainian gymnast Diana Varinska and has been training in Ukraine for several years.
Kuliak, who is twenty years old, reportedly underwent military training with the Russian army recently.
"We will protect Ivan in any case. I don't think he wanted to make a special demonstration, but we will support him in any case," Titov told rsport.ria.ru according to Google Translate.
"There is a regulation regarding the form. It was a violation of the form that was approved by the FIG. Ivan did it deliberately. I think that they can punish, they can remove us from participation. But we were already removed," he continues.
The Russian National Team Coordinator Valentina Rodionenko has also defended Kuliak.
Nine days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIG announced banning Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, including judges from taking part in FIG competitions or FIG-sanctioned competitions - starting from March 7th until further notice.
The Russian gymnasts competed at the Doha World Cup as neutral athletes.
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