In Ukraine, they are paying great attention to the action of weightlifter Iryna Dombrovska, who refused to participate in the joint photo after the medal ceremony, because a Russian competitor was there.
This happened on Sunday at the European Weightlifting Championships in Batumi, Georgia. After refusing to take a group photo, Dombrovska, who won three bronze medals, was reprimanded by the president of the European Weightlifting Federation, Astrit Hasani.
But Dombrovska said the decision not to be photographed with the Russian was made before the European Championships even started. Russian weightlifter Varvara Kuzminova, who competed as an independent, won the silver medal.
"Before the championship, I saw that an athlete from Russia would compete in my category and I decided that even if I won a medal, I did not want to have a photo with her or anything in common. When I won three bronze medals, it became clear that we would receive the medals together, and according to tradition, there would be a joint photo. So I stuck to the official part, listened to the anthem of the winner, who was from Finland, and left the podium. This was not even discussed. I do not want to take a photo with the representatives of the aggressor country. There is a war in Ukraine, Russia is committing war crimes, so I consider my decision to be correct," Dombrovska told the Ukrainian media outlet "Suspilne".
She also spoke about the conversation she had with Hasani. Astrit Hasani, who is from Kosovo, received criticism for the way she addressed the Ukrainian weightlifter.
"When I came down from the podium, the head coach of Ukraine and I waited for the photo shoot to end so that we could take a photo with the Ukrainian flag. Suddenly Astrit Hasani ran up and started saying that sport is outside of politics. We were shocked because we didn't have time to respond or argue. It was incomprehensible because I didn't break any rules: I respected everything the rules require, I listened to the Finnish anthem and left the podium. The photo shoot is optional. My wish was not to do it," the Ukrainian weightlifter emphasized.
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Kosovo EWF leader criticized after reprimanding Ukrainian for refusing to be photographed with Russian athlete
Even the Ukrainian weightlifter's father said that she acted rightly, as the Russians are the aggressors.
The Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation has issued a statement in support of Dombrovska. There are many posts in her support on social media.
Hasani has not spoken about the incident.
