Olympic swimming champion Evgeny Rylov is going to pay dearly for his public support of Vladimir Putin at the rally the Russian leader organized at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow a few days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine in which he celebrated the eighth anniversary of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
This Thursday the International Swimming Federation (FINA) has made the decision to punish the current Olympic champion of 100 and 200 meters backstroke without competing for nine months after Rylov attended Putin’s rally and was caught by the cameras in the event along with to other Russian athletes. A sanction that will start from April 20, 2022.
In this way Rylov will not be able to participate in “any competition or activity organized by FINA, including any competition on the FINA World Calendar for a period of nine months . The measure further complicates Rylov’s 2022, since the Russian swimmer , along with the rest of his compatriots and the swimmers will not be able to compete in the World Championships in Budapest and in the European Championships in Rome Previously, FINA had already made the decision to move the Short Course World Championships that should be held in Kazan to a new venue which is yet to be determined.