"Running with their flag": Russian world champion accuses Ukrainians of provocations

Russian canoeist Alexei Korovashkov complained that Ukrainian athletes at the World Cup allegedly organized provocations against athletes from the Russian Federation. The six-time world champion considered the patriotism of our compatriots, who performed with national symbols, incorrect.

Korovashkov said this in an interview with the Metaratings portal. The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and native of Stepnogorsk, Ukraine, also added that Polish athletes refused to shake hands, demonstrating their attitude towards representatives of the aggressor country.

"In the first stages of this season's World Cup, we felt pressure on us. The Ukrainians were running around us with their national flag, shouting, cheering, and generally provoking us. But when they realized that we did not fall for provocations, they caught up and stopped doing it. At the European Championships, the Polish rowers did not shake hands with us for the traditional handshake on the podium and refused to take pictures with us," Korovashkov said.

Earlier, he admitted that he avoided even making eye contact with Ukrainian athletes during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Oleksiy Korovashkov said that representatives of the Russian Federation were forbidden to even mention the name of the aggressor country during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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