A Russian gymnast who wore a pro-war “Z” sign on his chest on a World Cup podium has been handed a one-year ban and told to hand back his medal. Ivan Kuliak, 20, won the bronze medal in the parallel bars at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha, Qatar, on March 6, losing to Ukrainian Illia Kovtun, and came out to collect his medal with a “Z” taped to his chest. The letter, emblazoned on Russian tanks and vehicles, has become the symbol of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
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