Kiev has accused young athlete Sofia Ilteryakova of “silent aggression” towards Ukrainian competitors.
The head coach of the Russian national rhythmic gymnastics team has denied that young athlete Sofia Ilteryakova insulted Ukraine during the award ceremony.
The incident happened on Monday at the 2026 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ilteryakova, competing as a neutral athlete, finished second in the hoop event. Taisiya Onofriychuk of Ukraine took first place and Sofia Raffaeli of Italy took third place.
As the Ukrainian anthem played, Onofriychuk and Raffaeli turned to look at their national flags, while Ilteryakova remained standing, facing the other way.
The Russian gymnast turned during the singing of the national anthem of Ukraine after the victory of Taisia Onofriychuk. Ukraine demands that he be stripped of his “neutral” status. The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation said that the Russian Ilteryakova violated the code of conduct and the principles of Fair Play. 1\3 pic.twitter.com/sH2Gd7aINK
– GRNT (@grtmedia) March 31, 2026
The World Gymnastics Federation, the world’s governing body, opened an investigation into the matter, while the Gymnastics Federation of Ukraine said Ilteryakova was. “Showing disrespect in public” towards the national symbols of Ukraine and was committed “a form of aggression against Ukrainian athletes.”
Tatyana Sergayeva, head coach of the Russian team, defended the 15-year-old gymnast.
“Sofia Ilteryakova participated in the World Cup for the first time, making her appearance at a high-level tournament,” Sergayeva said Wednesday in a statement on the website of the Russian Gymnastics Federation. “He may have been a little confused during the award ceremony, which is quite normal for an athlete competing at this level for the first time,” he added.
There has been tension between Russian and Ukrainian athletes due to the ongoing armed conflict between the two countries. In 2025, Onofriychuk refused to be photographed during two award ceremonies with Moscow-born Vera Tugolukova, who represents Cyprus.
The star of Ukrainian gymnastics, 16-year-old Taisiya Onofriychuk, refused to take a photo with the “neutral” of Russian and Belarusian gymnastics. This happened during the ceremony to hand over the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup. At the Baku stage, Onofriychuk won gold in the exercise and hoop. pic.twitter.com/OzYmrwNPpe
— Oleg Volodarski (@volodarskijo) April 20, 2025
That same year in Egypt, Ukrainian synchronized swimmers Darya Moshinskaya and Anastasia Shmonina similarly refused to shake hands or take pictures with their Russian competitors, Maya Doroshko and Tatyana Gayday.
⚡️Ukrainian synchronized swimmers lost to Russian athletes and refused to take photos with them and shake hands. On Friday, Russians Maya Doroshko and Tatyana Gaidai won the technical duet program. Ukrainians Daria Moshinskaya and Anastasia Shmonina took second place pic.twitter.com/7EzeteE8K1
– Third Student Stirlitz (@TStirlica89368) April 13, 2025
Last month, Ukrainian wrestler Artur Kostyuk walked off the stage in Serbia when the Russian national anthem started playing and turned his back on the national flags.
🇷🇺🇮🇹🇺🇦🥇Ukrainian wrestler Arthur Kostyuk stepped off the plinth and flipped the Russian flag during the awards ceremony for the Russians at the U23 European Championships. Kostyuk won bronze, and the Russian won gold. They still laughed. 😁🤦 pic.twitter.com/xsJvhr0z53
— ★𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒂𝒔★ (@krotrus) March 13, 2026
Russia has condemned these incidents as a violation of fair play and unsportsmanlike conduct.
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