"Absolutely unacceptable". The NOC reacts to the defection from Ukraine and change of citizenship of the star Ukrainian gymnastics champion

The President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadym Guttsait admitted that he was surprised by the escape of Ilya Kovtun, the silver medalist of the 2024 Olympic Games in gymnastics, who applied for Croatian citizenship. The official emphasized that the state has invested significant resources in Kovtun's training since childhood, which allowed him to achieve Olympic success even during the difficult period of war for Ukraine.

However, he considers the decision of an athlete to change citizenship during a full-scale war unacceptable. According to Gutzeit, many Ukrainian athletes train in other countries but remain loyal to Ukraine, and changing citizenship during the war is not a good thing.

"To be honest, I am upset about this because it is absolutely unacceptable to me, because there are many cases of athletes who also train abroad, who live abroad, but do not think about changing their citizenship at all," Tribuna.com quoted Vadym Markovych as saying.

The head of the NOC noted that Ilya Kovtun did not get in touch with him, and negotiations were held only with his coach Iryna Gorbacheva (née Nadiuk). According to Gutzeit, Ukraine was ready to offer Kovtun and his coach all the conditions for training, including improving the base in Koncha Zaspa or the opportunity to train abroad.

He emphasized that the key is the athlete's desire to remain a Ukrainian, and the existing problems in the Gymnastics Federation are not a justification for changing citizenship.

Gutzeit also touched on rumors that Gorbacheva is allegedly seeking the position of vice president of the Gymnastics Federation, but said this was the first time he had heard of it.

"I did not talk to her about her wanting a position in the gymnastics federation. It's not like she wants anything here, that's why she doesn't stay in Ukraine. Do you want to be Ukrainian or not? If you want to change your citizenship, then you don't want to be Ukrainian. And this is the main message for me during a full-scale war," Gutzeit summarized.

Earlier, Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi expressed disappointment that gymnast Ilya Kovtun had applied for Croatian citizenship. The official noted that he did not approve of the 2024 Olympic Games vice-champion's decision to abandon his home country and national team.

Earlier, in an interview with OBOZ.UA, Iryna Gorbacheva said that Ukraine had not invested anything in her ward's preparation for the 2024 Olympics. Kovtun himself recently deleted a post on his Instagram dedicated to supporting Ukraine and its people.

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