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Illja Kowtun won in Doha on parallel bars.
After the competition, however, the main focus was on his competitors
Photo: Andreas Gora / dpa
The Russian war against Ukraine is also having an impact on sport.
In many sports, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been excluded from competitions.
The world gymnastics association FIG also announced such sanctions on Friday – but they will only apply from Monday.
The Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak apparently used the last opportunity to present himself to the sports world for a provocation.
At the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, the 20-year-old appeared with a "Z" apparently taped over the logo of the Russian association: an alleged declaration of solidarity with the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
A picture of it can be seen on the organizer's website.
The "Z" can be found on Russian military vehicles, such as tanks.
According to an Instagram post by the Russian military, the letter stands for the slogan "For Victory".
It may also serve as an identification mark to avoid confusion with the Ukraine combat equipment, some of which is of the same type.
In the past few days, Russian politicians and influencers had repeatedly shown themselves with the "Z" on clothing, for example, and thus allegedly backed Russian President Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.
The general director of the athletes' association Global Athlete, Rob Koehler, criticized on Twitter that Putin was using Russian athletes for propaganda purposes.
The exclusion will protect them from that.
Kuliak's provocation stole the show from a Ukrainian: 18-year-old Illja Kovtun won the World Cup on parallel bars ahead of Milad Karimi and Kuliak.
In a winning picture of the three athletes, Kovtun and Karimi were holding each other.
Kuliak stood by with a smirk.
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