MOSCOW, Mar 6 Russian Ivan Kulyak, who won the bronze medal in exercises on parallel bars at the stage of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, went to the awards with the letter Z on the form. The Ukrainian Ilya Kovtun won the competition. The second place was taken by the representative of Kazakhstan, Milad Karimi. The letter Z has become an unofficial symbol of support for the special operation in Ukraine, since it is one of the insignia on the Russian military equipment participating in it. Russian athletes perform at the World Cup stage in a neutral status after the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) ruled against the Russians due to the situation in Ukraine. The organization has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, as well as officials, including judges, from participating in competitions under the auspices of FIG starting from March 7th.
