Just a few days before the start of the 2022 Russian Cup in Kaluga, the Russian Gymnastics Federation published updated start lists for the competition with one name notably missing – Ivan Kuliak. Last month, Valentina Rodionenko claimed that Kuliak was still eligible to participate in domestic competitions despite the one-year suspension by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The suspension decision clearly stated that Kuliak is not eligible to compete at events organized by the FIG member federations. Nevertheless, Rodionenko insisted the FIG had no authority to forbid his participation at the Russian Cup:
“They tried to forbid Kuliak from competing at national competitions but we said “no”. He will compete there. The FIG has no right to interfere with our internal regulations.”
The competition will take place in Kuliak’s home city of Kaluga and he was supposed to be among the headliners of the event. He was honored by the Kaluga region’s governor Vladislav Shapsha who praised Kuliak’s behavior at the Doha World Cup. Kuliak’s actions were also cited as an example of an act of “raising the status of Russia internationally”. The Ministry of Sports proposed changes to the regulations of Master of Sports title which would allow awarding the highest rank – Honored Master of Sports, normally reserved for Olympic and World champions – to athletes that raise the status of Russia internationally by various means, not just by earning gold medals.
However, it seems that the management of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation finally realized that allowing Kuliak compete in defiance of the suspension could have consequences for the whole federation and is probably not worth it in the long run. Valentina Rodionenko told TASS that the federation is trying to avoid potential sanctions:
“Vanya is training but in the end, he is forbidden from competing at the Russian Cup. There is a risk that if we allow him compete at our [domestic] competitions, the whole federation may be sanctioned. But he is allowed to attend training camps. As I’ve already said, Vanya is training. I can’t say that he got very upset when he learned he was forbidden from competing in Kaluga. He has a strong character and he understands the complexity of the situation very well. Vanya is not an all-arounder, he competes only on two or three events. So, he will keep working and preparing new routines.”
According to TASS, the federation originally considered an option to allow Kuliak do exhibition routines at the Russian Cup. He was, however, on the regular start list and the federation officials earlier claimed he would compete as usual.
Kuliak and the federation appealed his suspension but, per Rodionenko, the appeal will likely take a long time:
“The lawyers submitted the appeal but there is no news so far. Everything is being dragged on and people there are not in any rush, I suppose. But we still hope everything will turn out well.”
