Ukrainian Gymnast Illia Kovtun Refuses To Compete In Italy Due To Russian Gymnast Artur Dalaloyan Competing There

Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun has been training for Italy's club Palestra Ginnastica Ferrara for more than a month.  However, he recent...

Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun has been training for Italy's club Palestra Ginnastica Ferrara for more than a month. 

However, he recently decided to withdraw from Italy's Serie A as Russian gymnast Artur Dalaloyan, who has a contract with Italian Gymnastic Romagna Team, will be competing there.

The club said in a statement that they understand the gymnast's situation and that as a sign of solidarity they will not be replacing him on the parallel bars, Kovtun's strongest apparatus which he dominated at this year's FIG World Cups.

Ukraine has been under vicious Russian military attack since last February.

At the Doha Cup in March, Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak wore the Russian pro war symbol Z while sharing the podium with Kovtun.

Kuliak has recently received a one year ban and has been ordered to return the bronze medal he won in Doha as well as its prize money.

Russian gymnasts have been banned from taking part in FIG [International Gymnastics Federation] competitions or FIG-sanctioned competitions from 7 March 2022 until further notice in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

TG Saar, a German gymnastics club, announced last month cutting ties with Dalaloyan's teammate Nikita Nagornyy over his Russia-Ukraine war stance.

Photo: Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0