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Russian gymnast banned from competing for a year after wearing ‘Z’ war symbol while collecting World Cup medal alongside his Ukrainian rival

Russian gymnast banned from competing for a year after wearing ‘Z’ war symbol while collecting World Cup medal alongside his Ukrainian rival

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A Russian gymnast who taped a ‘Z’ war symbol to his chest while sharing the podium with his Ukrainian rival has been banned from competing for a year.

 

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Ivan Kuliak, 20, wore the symbol in support of Putin’s war on Ukraine while receiving a bronze medal in the parallel bars at a gymnastics world cup event in Qatar back in March.

 

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He was standing just a few feet away from Ukrainian athlete Ivan Kuliak, who won gold.

 

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Russian gymnast banned from competing for a year after wearing

 

The International Gymnastics Federation has now ruled that Kuliak breached multiple codes by wearing the symbol, and will be banned from competing for at least a year. The ban will last until May 2023.

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Kuliak has also been disqualified from the World Cup, must return his bronze medal, and must repay his prize money of around £400.

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He must also pay costs for the investigation, which amount to £1,600.

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Valentina Rodionenko, the head of the Russian World Cup delegation, and Igor Kalabushkin, the coach, were not found to have breached the rules, and charges against them were dropped.

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Days after Kuliak caused the fury, the gymnast said he had no regrets and would do the same again.

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He told Russia Today: ‘If there was a second chance and I had a choice whether to go out with the letter “Z” on my chest or not, I would do the same.

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‘I saw it on our military and looked at what this symbol means. It turned out to be “for victory” and “for peace”. I just wanted to show my position.

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‘As an athlete, I will always fight for victory and play for peace.’

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