Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak won bronze on parallel bars in Saturday's Apparatus World Cup in Qatar, then taped a "Z" onto his chest before climbing atop the podium for the medal ceremony next to the gold medalist—Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun. The letter "Z" has become a pro-war symbol in Russia, and has been worn by supporters of Vladimir Putin and painted on the sides of military vehicles invading Ukraine, the BBC reports. Per the Sun, which has a photo of Kuliak on the podium, the letter represents the Russian phrase for victory.
Kovtun reportedly shook the silver medalist's hand, but did not acknowledge Kuliak at all during the medal ceremony. "The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) confirms that it will ask the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation to open disciplinary proceedings against Ivan Kuliak following his shocking behavior at the Apparatus World Cup," the organization said in a statement cited by the Guardian. The event in Doha was the last one in which Russian and Belarusian gymnasts were allowed to compete before sanctions instituted by FIG take effect, banning them from events starting Monday. FIG cited "deep concerns" regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine when announcing those sanctions, which follow a series of similar actions across the sports world. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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