KYIV. UkraineGate . August .2022 l Political News.
Due to the war started by the aggressor country in Ukraine, Russian athletes were suspended from almost all sports competitions in the world. Moreover, all the championships that were supposed to be held in Russia from 2022 to 2024 were transferred to other countries.
Zigzawl during victories
On April 10, the first stage of the European Junior Karting Championships was held in Portugal. The winner was the Russian athlete Artem Severukhin, who performs under the Italian flag.
The network drew attention to Severukhin’s gesture at the award ceremony: he knocked himself twice with his fist in the chest and pulled his open palm forward — the so-called “Roman salute”, which was used by the fascists and Nazis.
At the time, the International Automobile Federation was called upon to strip the junior of the trophy and disqualify him.
Letter Z
In early March, at the World Cup stage in Qatar, Russian gymnast Ivan Kulyak went to the award with the letter Z on his uniform. Later, Russian gymnasts were removed from international races due to a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the GEF (Gymnastic Ethics Foundation), which opened a “disciplinary” against the athlete, took up the Kulyak case. Also, a medal was taken from Ivan and deprived of a monetary reward in the amount of 500 Swiss francs.
Middle finger
Russian racer Nikita Mazepin, the son of oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, who is already under Canadian sanctions, was involved in an incident during Formula 1 races last May: Canadian Aston Martin team driver Lance Stroll showed him his middle finger.
We add that during the then Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won, but Lance Stroll finished 11th. Nikita Mazepin arrived last and was also fined because he blocked his opponent.
And this is against the backdrop of the fact that his father constantly blackmailed the Formula 1 team Haas, which had his son, threatening to deprive them of funding if Nikita did not start winning. Despite this, Mazepin Jr. almost always lost, and after the start of the war he generally decided to change from car to truck, because he was expelled from the Haas team.
Silence instead of hymn
In 2022, for the first time in recent times, Russia was left without its representative in Formula 1, but 21-year-old Alexander Smoliar is still performing in the junior series. Despite the tough sanctions, the Russian was still allowed to participate in Formula 3, where he even won.
However, when Smolyar climbed the pedestal, instead of the flag of the aggressor country, a white spot appeared on the screen, and instead of the Russian anthem, silence sounded.
Journalists called such a victory “shameful.”
Source: Ukrgate
