Russian gymnast Ivan Kuljak is not ashamed in support of the invasion of Ukraine, and he would easily repeat the gesture he made at the Doha World Cup. He said this in an interview with the state television station RT.
Kuljak finished third on the parallel bars over the weekend and came to the medal with the letter Z on his chest during the ceremony. Russian tanks and other military vehicles have the same emblem in Ukraine.
“If there was another opportunity, I would put the letter Z on my chest again. I saw it with our soldiers and found out what it meant,” said Kuljak, who also stood on the podium next to the Ukrainian winner Ilya Kovtun.
“It means ‘for victory’ and ‘for peace’. I don’t wish anyone any harm, I just expressed my opinion. As an athlete, you always fight for victory and you are for peace,” added Kuljak, 20, who chose the invasion symbol because of the invasion. “terrible behavior of Ukrainians”, as he also said.
Due to the gesture, he was already being investigated by the International Gymnastics Federation, which banned Russian and Belarusian representatives from competing, but only from March 7. Kuljak could still race in Doha.
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