Maria Filatova, who was part of the 1976 and 1980 Soviet Olympic gold winning teams, praised Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak who recently receiv...
Maria Filatova, who was part of the 1976 and 1980 Soviet Olympic gold winning teams, praised Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak who recently received a one year ban for wearing the Russian pro war symbol Z at the 2022 Doha World Cup last March.
"Ivan you are a hero! The most important thing is that you are with a powerful spirit and such people become champions," Filatova wrote in a comment reacting to Kuliak's punishment on the Russian social media website VK. "I wish you to reach all your goals. Maria Filatova Soviet Union."
Kuliak wore the symbol while performing on the parallel bars at the event final at the Doha cup last March, where he won a bronze medal.
He also wore it on the podium which he shared with Ukrainian gymnast and gold medalist Illia Kovtun.
Besides the one year ban, Kuliak will be disqualified from the Doha FIG Apparatus World Cup. He is also ordered to return the bronze medal and the prize money of CHF 500, and to pay a contribution of the costs of the proceedings in the sum of CHF 2,000.
Besides being a double Olympic champion, Filatova is an Olympic bronze medalist on the uneven bars, 1981 World all around silver medalist, and 1977 European floor champion.
She was one of the first female gymnasts to successfully compete a double back somersault on floor in 1975.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Filatova worked as a coach in Ireland and then in the United States.
Despite being a national hero, she had to go through a tedious process to apply for and eventually receive a Russian passport in order to return home to her native country.
In 2015, she moved back to Russia and started coaching in her native city Leninsk-Kuznetsky where 2020 Olympic bars silver medalist Anastasia Ilyankova trains.
In 2019, the former Soviet gymnast was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Photo: ighof
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