Sergei FuchsCorrespondent SportAll materialsThe 20-year-old Russian gymnast Ivan Kulyak, whose talent is highly valued by the coaches of the national team, does not have many victories yet, but the athlete's name has become very recognizable in recent months. In March, at the World Cup stage in Doha, Kulyak entered the award ceremony with the letter Z printed on his uniform, which became an unofficial symbol of support for the special operation in Ukraine. For this, the disciplinary committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) suspended the athlete for a year. Here everyone can have their own opinion, but it seems that it could be worse. If we leave out the hackneyed and already irrelevant phrases like «sport is out of politics», then you can see the trend that athletes have long become a kind of ambassadors, part of «soft power», a whole brand. They are expected not only to have great results and a bright smile in a commercial, but also an active citizenship. One caveat — the athlete must act in unison with society and colleagues, think like they do, otherwise they will simply devour him.
