【Exclusive media report】Russian gymnast Ivan Kuilak won the bronze medal in the men’s parallel bars at the Gymnastics World Cup held in Doha, Qatar recently. When he presented the award, his uniform had the word Z on it, suspected of supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.International Gymnastics FederationstatementEmphasized that disciplinary action would be taken, and described the behaviour as shocking behaviour.
20-year-old Ivan Kuilak took bronze in the event, Ukraine’s Kovtun IIIia and Kazakhstan’s Milan Karimi took gold and silver respectively. The head coach of the Russian Gymnastics Federation, Valentina Rodionenko, told local sports broadcaster Match TV that the “Z” was Ivan Kuilak’s patriotic gesture. Valentina Rodionenko also mentioned that Ivan Kuilak did not tell anyone about the act beforehand.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of tanks and military vehicles were affixed with the letter Z. The Russian Ministry of Defense explained on Instagram earlier that “Z” is “За победу”, which means for victory.
In addition, the International Gymnastics Federation has announced earlier that Russian and Belarus athletes and referees will not be able to participate in the competitions under the Federation from March 7, and the next stop of the gymnastics world championships will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.