Athlete disqualified for ‘make Russia small again’ T-shirt
Lithuanian athlete Kornelija Dudaite has been disqualified from an international fitness contest in Hungary for competing in a ‘Make Russia small again’ T-shirt.
The organizers said the slogan, which previously appeared on a T-shirt worn by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, violated the event’s ‘sportsmanship’ rules.
The incident occurred on Friday at the 2024 Super Worlds championship, run by the International Functional Fitness Federation (iF3).
Dudaite told the Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT that although Russian nationals participated in the event as neutral athletes, she was still upset by their presence.
“I had this T-shirt, the same one worn by the Ukrainian president, and I thought that if it was necessary to show my political stance, I would show it,” Dudaite said. She added that she was outraged when the organizers “congratulated” the Russians on social media. “It seemed wrong to me. I don’t think that an aggressor country should be congratulated anywhere,” she stated.
According to Dudaite, the organizers demanded that she change the T-shirt, but she refused.
Several top Lithuanian politicians have backed Dudaite on social media. “I’m proud of Lithuanians who bravely stand up for freedom and their values in all circumstances,” Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys wrote on X.
The Lithuanian team withdrew from the competition on Friday, citing “the organizers’ negligent attitude towards the ‘neutral flag’ policy.”
The organizers released a statement, saying that they “firmly believe that sport should remain apolitical and open to all.” They explained that Dudaite’s T-shirt “was deemed to be in violation of the sportsmanship clause of the iF3 rulebook.”
The iF3 expressed regret that the name Russia was “incorrectly” placed on athlete name cards during the opening day, and that announcers referred to the team from Russia as “Russian athletes.” The organizers stressed that the Russian competitors followed the restrictions, marched under a neutral flag during the opening ceremony, and did “not have any Russian symbols on their uniforms.”
Russia was banned from most international sports events over the conflict in Ukraine. In some cases, athletes from Russia have been allowed to participate as individuals, or under a neutral flag. Moscow has accused international federations of “politicization” of sports.
