LONDON — Olympic athletes from Russia who recently took part in a rally in support of President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine could face punishment, with one of them already losing a sponsor and facing of a disciplinary investigation.
Medalists in cross-country skiing, gymnastics, figure skating and swimming gathered on the stage erected in Luzhniki Stadium last Friday for an event/concert to set the stage for Putin’s patriotic speech.
Olympic swimming champion Evgeny Rylov is under investigation for attending the event, FINA toldAssociated Press.
“FINA is very disappointed to learn that Evgeny Rylov was spotted at Luzhniki Stadium during last Friday’s rally. We are investigating to get this story straight,” the organization said in an email exchange on Tuesday.
Rylov also had his sponsorship deal with swimsuit manufacturer Speedo terminated due to his participation in the Putin rally.
“Due to its presence at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow last weekend, Speedo can confirm the immediate termination of its sponsorship agreement with Evgeny Rylov,” the company wrote. We condemn the war in Ukraine and our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine, our athletes and our teammates who have suffered because of this conflict. »
Speedo added that it will pay the rest of the amount that was provided for in Rylov’s agreement to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Most of the athletes, including Rylov, were seen wearing jackets emblazoned with the letter ‘Z’ on the front during the rally. This letter is not part of the Cyrillic alphabet, but it became the symbol of support for the Russian army after being painted on the tanks that took part in the invasion of Ukraine.
Other Olympic medalists attended the rally, including skaters Victoria Sinitsina, Nikita Katsalapov, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov, and gymnasts Dina and Arina Averina.
Athletes took to the stage as the Russian national anthem played over the stadium speakers, a sort of snub to the penalties imposed on them during medal ceremonies at the Tokyo Games in the summer last and at the Beijing Games last month, after years of a doping scandal that rocked Russia.
The rally served to mark Russia’s forced annexation of Crimea in 2014, celebrated with patriotic songs and speeches of support for the Russian military and pro-Russian separatist groups.
