Russian gymnast Ivan Kuryaka (Иван Куляка), who wore a gymnastics suit with the letter "Z" on it, brought his explanation. Let's see what he said?
Here's what Ivan posted: "Wearing a sportswear with the letter Z on the podium was a response to the actions of the tournament organizers and Ukrainian athletes. They demanded that Russian athletes have to cover their country's flag, and I did. All they could forbid, they forbade. And I'm doing this just to tell you where I'm from. I'm not afraid of the consequences. I don't want to hurt anyone, the meaning of this letter Z is for victory, for peace. ”
"Ukrainian athletes treat us very unfriendly and should see how they perform there. They began all political acts. They walked out draped in national flags and shouting "Glory of Ukraine." After seeing these behaviors, I took it and pasted it with this symbol. According to the rules of the game they should not do this. But they did. We didn't say nasty things to anyone and didn't do anything. Even so, they still asked us to withdraw from the game. Finally he said, "I think I did what I was supposed to do." ”
Finally, I would like to say that I am not a sports fan. But I really want sports to be just sports.