Showed the Russian flag to the whole world. A brave American unexpectedly supported our athletes

Russian athletes, unfortunately, have been under sanctions for a long time. However, over almost ten years that our athletes have been discriminated against, there have been more than once situations when support came from the most unexpected places. Even from the United States!

The brave American was not afraid to unfurl the Russian flag in the stands and showed the whole world: common sense still exists in some places. An incredible act!

Truncated composition

Due to sanctions in the doping case, the Russian team competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in a neutral status. Our athletes had neither a flag, nor an anthem, nor many team members who, due to an unfair decision by the IOC, were unable to go to the Games.

The team lost, for example, skier Sergei Ustyugov, biathlete Anton Shipulin, and short track speed skater Viktor An. There were many other athletes on this list who could theoretically bring medals to our team. Some of them subsequently managed to get the decision on their cases reviewed, but it was too late: they never managed to go to Korea.

Victor An / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Grigory Sysoev

As a result, it is quite natural that in the medal standings at the end of the competition our athletes were far from the top 10. The Russian team managed to take two gold medals, but what kind! One was won by Alina Zagitova, who won the figure skating competition, and the second by our hockey players, who defeated the German team in the final.

A truncated roster, the need to act as “Olympic athletes from Russia” and simply a negative background from foreign media and some rivals – all this, of course, contributed to not the most successful results. However, there were also positive moments at that Olympics that showed: even in unfriendly countries they understand how absurd the sanctions against Russia are.

Flag in the stands

Already at the opening of the Olympics, our athletes could feel the support of the fans. At the height of the ceremony, American citizen Philip Wahuda, who had come to watch the Games, unfurled a huge banner of the Russian Federation in the stands. The shot with the American instantly spread across social networks and the media, becoming a symbol of the adequate attitude towards our athletes on the part of ordinary fans from Western countries.

Vahuda himself was very surprised when journalists told him that he was now the main character of Russian news reports. It turned out that the man was half Czech, and bought the flag in New Zealand. All the time before the Olympics, he followed the news agenda and was indignant at how unfairly Russian athletes were treated. Surprisingly, the American was in the context of everything that was happening, knew the names of many athletes and said that he would definitely go to figure skating and biathlon competitions to support those Russians who did come to Korea.

Photo: © Social networks fans

It is very likely that Philip was not disappointed. At least in figure skating, our athletes traditionally performed at the highest level. In biathlon, unfortunately, it was not possible to win medals, but this is understandable: the main stars of our team were simply not allowed to participate in the Games.

As far as is known, Philip did not have any problems with stadium employees over the Russian flag. At the same time, other fans complained that their national symbols were taken away from them in Pyeongchang, although there was no official ban on spectators by the IOC.