MOSCOW, Oct 19, Oleg Bogatov. Head coach of the Russian national gymnastics team Valentina Rodionenko said that Ivan Kulyak will not perform at the open championship of Belarus and other competitions in this country due to the fact that the Belarusian Gymnastics Association does not want to take risks and complicate relations with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). Previously, the Gymnastic Ethics Foundation (GEF) Appeal Tribunal ) partially granted the appeal of Kulyak's claim, however, the athlete's suspension from participation in all FIG-sanctioned events or competitions organized by affiliated FIG member federations from May 17, 2022 to May 16, 2023 remains in force. «Ivan Kulyak will not compete in the open championship Belarus. This is due to the fact that the Belarusian federation does not take risks. And when we applied to them for our athletes to participate in this tournament, they immediately sent us a refusal (according to Kulyak). Because he is under disqualification of the International Gymnastics Federation. It has not been removed from him, so until May next year he will miss (all) tournaments that are held in this country,» Rodionenko said. Z, which became an unofficial symbol of support for the special operation in Ukraine, Kulyak later explained that it was a response to provocations by Ukrainian gymnasts.
