Despite still being suspended for a year putting a pro-war symbol on his leotard at the Doha WC, Ivan Kuliak competed this week at the Spartakiade – a major national multi-sport competition in Russia. The Russian gymnastics federation which is responsible for the gymnastics portion of the event claimed it did not fall under the suspension terms because technically it was organized by the Ministry of Sports. The FIG, seemengly, fell for it. Their spokesperson told Inside the Games: “This event is neither a FIG-sanctioned competition, nor a competition organised by the Russian National Federation. Therefore this event does not fall within the scope of the GEF decision”.
However, it seems to dawn on the Russian Gymnastics Federation that, perhaps, their unconditional support for Kuliak was not the right decision. While Kuliak is lauded as a national hero in Russia, his actions in Doha were more of an angry, ill-thought outburst than a feat of bravery. When he put the makeshift “Z” on his leotard, he clearly had no idea what consequences he could face. In fact, the act was absolutely worth it for him – he instantly became a celebrity, got sponsorship contracts, and only missed one competition so far – the Russian Cup in July. All the expenses related to his case were covered by the national federation and the Ministry of Sports and he did not lose his national team spot or funding. Thus, he learned that insubordination is rewarded and has no or almost no negative consequences. And then he applied this lesson at the Spartakiade.
Kuliak placed 10th in the AA qualification and generally competed well for his level. He qualified to the AA final and the parallel bars event final. However, things did not go great in the AA final. He fell on his first event – pommel horse – had multiple mistakes on the next events and then fell again from high bar. After that, he refused to go on the last event and, accoridng to observers, stormed out of the arena. Valentina Rodionenko claimed he also did not follow the proper protocols for scratching from the competition and did not talk to anyone when he made the decision to leave:
“I don’t know why he scratched. I think he scratched because he didn’t have such good results. He has no right to do that [ to scratch without warning anyone]. He might be disqualified from the [event] final. It’s not right. If his coach was by his side he should’ve told him. That’s how he acted in Doha – very patriotically, but he did not warn any of us, [did not warn] me as the delegation head. Perhaps, we would have made a different decision there and he would not have these problems. And now he doesn’t go out on floor. He made this decision on his own and he has no right to do so.”
What Kuliak might not fully understand is that he has to stay in good graces of the national team staff to keep his spot on the team. Gymnasts might be taken off the national team at any time of the year and the roster for the next year will be formed soon. With Kuliak not having any medals from this year’s competition (his bronze from Doha was annulled), he is not a shoo-in and will need additional justification to make the team. That justification usually comes from gymnasts’ progress during camps and their behavior and willingness to follow the rules are one of the factors that may affect the decision.
Nowadays, for Russian male gymnasts, a national team spot means not just funding and access to the best training and recovery facilities, but also protection from being drafted into the army and sent to war in Ukraine. Last week, a “partial mobilization” was announced that is supposed to target mostly officers and young men with combat experience. In reality, though, many people who do not fit these criteria are still getting drafted, especially outside of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. As a healthy young man from Kaluga who recently finished his mandatory army service, Kuliak would be a prime candidate to be drafted if not for his national team spot. Per Rodionenko, all national team gymnasts and coaches received draft exemptions for the time being. But only the national team members are included and gymnasts at lower levels have already started receiving draft notices. According to David Belyavskiy, at least one active gymnast and one coach (both not currently on the national team) recently received their draft notices and the gymnast was taken away by the army the day before leaving for the Spartakiade.
