Russian swimmer Rylov banned for appearing at Putin rally

LAUSANNE, Switzerland –

Evgeny Rylov (Russian Olympic gold medalist swimming) has been banned from the sport for nine month for supporting President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Rylov stood on stage with with medalists from other Olympic sports at the event last month and wore a jacket with a “Z” on the chest. Although the letter isn’t part of Russian alphabet, it has become a symbol for support for Russian troops since it was used to mark Russian armored vehicles in Ukraine.

FINA, the swimming world’s governing body, has a brief statement to make on Thursday said it “acknowledged” an earlier, as-yet unpublished ruling from a disciplinary panel to ban Rylov “following Mr. Rylov’s attendance and conduct at an event held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.”

Rylov was Russia’s star swimmer at the Olympics in Tokyo last season, winning two gold medals.

His ban was effective Wednesday and applies to all international competitions. Rylov’s ban will likely be symbolic, as FINA extended the exclusion of competitors from Russia and Belarus from any international events until 2022.

FINA had previously expelled Belarus and Russia from the world championships held in Hungary, June and July. However, it allowed them to participate in other events. FINA was announcing the ban at the time. saidRussia intended to boycott all international events regardless, something Russia denied. This position is now clarified.

“The Bureau also confirmed its position that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials will not be invited to any FINA event through the end of 2022,” FINA said Thursday. FINA covers a variety of aquatic sports such as swimming, diving and water polo.