MOSCOW, Aug 9, Anastasia Panina.Russian gymnast Elizaveta Polstyanaya, who played for the Latvian national team, said in an interview that during her recent visit to Russia she was not allowed to post photos on social networks. Polstyanaya began her career in Russia, but in 2018 she became a citizen of Latvia and began performing for the national team. On Friday, the athlete announced that she was banned from participating in the 2022 World Championships. Explaining her statement in more detail, Polstyanaya told LETA that she had been sent a letter with an ultimatum: to renounce Russian citizenship and continue to represent Latvia, or be expelled from the national team.
"In March, I was given the condition that I should move to Latvia and train there. I accepted the terms of the move and agreed. At the European Championships, I performed quite well. Our team got into the top 12 and got the right to the maximum representation of Latvia at the World Championships. Everything worked out well. After performing at the European Championships, I returned to Latvia, stayed there for a week, and then my vacation began. I told the federation that I would go to Russia, because my family and friends are here. I really wanted to see everyone after three and a half months of absence. I simply missed my loved ones. At first they told me: "No, you can't". I say: "Well, you understand that a family is a family?" As a result, they let me go, but on the condition that I don’t post anything anywhere, I don’t publicly indicate that I am in Russia. Well, okay, it was not a problem", said Polstyanaya.
«I spent a month resting in Moscow. By the end of the vacation, I had already begun to get in shape. By the end of July, I returned to Latvia to prepare for the World Championship. we were supposed to fly away. A week later, the Latvian Olympic Committee and the gymnastics federation sent me a letter. Again, no one contacted me personally. Although earlier they wrote and called about not so important issues. And now, when my fate as an athlete was being decided, no one I tried to talk,» she added. Read the full interview with Elizaveta Polstyana on Tuesday at rsport.ria.ru.