Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak has been given a one-year ban for displaying a symbol on his uniform supporting the invasion of Ukraine.
Kuliak had taped the “Z” symbol — seen on Russian tanks and military vehicles in Ukraine and embraced by supporters of the war — to his vest for a medal ceremony at a World Cup event in March.
Along with the ban, Kuliak must return the bronze medal he won in parallel bars, the International Gymnastics Federation said.
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The 20-year-old Kuliak had stood next to a gold medallist from Ukraine on the podium in Doha, Qatar.
“If the protective measures keeping Russian athletes from competing are still in place on 17 May 2023, the ban shall continue and expire six months after the removal of said measures,” the federation’s disciplinary commission said in its ruling.
The commission found that Kuliak breached federation statutes of discipline, ethics, code of conduct and technical regulations “when he wore the letter ‘Z’ on his singlet during the competition and the award ceremony.”
Kuliak, a former national junior all-around champion who did not compete at the Tokyo Olympics, can appeal within 21 days.
The panel said no violations were established against Russian delegation leader Valentina Rodionenko and coach Igor Kalabushkin.
“It is surprising to me that several letters of the Latin alphabet were included in the list of banned by the international federation and the organisers of the tournament in Doha,” Russian State Duma Sports Committee chairman Dmitry Svishchev told the country’s official state news agency TASS.
“When I looked at the regulations, I did not see that they were included in the list of prohibited signs, which is why a person can fall under sanctions.
“I personally do not see any offensive, discriminatory, nationalistic signs in Kuliak’s act, just as the entire normal civilised world does not see it.
“But, unfortunately, the Federation cannot cope with the pressure of politicians, big business tycoons, regulating the law or lawlessness in sports.”
At the time, Kuliak said he wouldn’t change his actions if he had his time over again.
“If there was a second chance and I would again have to choose whether to go out with the letter ‘Z’ on my chest or not, I would do exactly the same,” Kuliak said.
“I saw it with our military and looked at what this symbol means. It turned out [it means], ‘for victory’ and ‘for peace’.”
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