Female Russian athletes kissing after relay victory at World Championships causes homophobic stir as  'gay rights' jumper ordered to repaint rainbow nails

  • Two Russian gold medalists photographed kissing on lips - twice
  • Sources in the Russian team deny the kiss was in protest of anti-gay laws
  • Swedish high-jumper who painted nails in support of gay rights rebuked
  • Sports' minister vows to protect personal freedoms at Winter Olympics

By Sara Malm and Stuart Woledge

Published: | Updated:


Two Russian athletes were photographed kissing on the podium as they received their gold medal at the World Athletics Championship in what has been seen as an act of defiance against their Government's attitude toward gay rights.

Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova, who were part of the 4x400m gold medalist winning team at last week's event in Moscow, were snapped exchanging a kiss on the lips on the final day of the tournament yesterday.

It was not the first kiss the pair had enjoyed either - they had also shared a similar kiss directly after winning the race.

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Intimate: Gold medalist Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova of Russia share a kiss on the lips during as they were awarded their gold medals

Intimate: Gold medalist Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova of Russia share a kiss on the lips during as they were awarded their gold medals

It was the final twist in an event that had been overshadowed by the issue of gay rights.

Sources inside the Russian team had denied the kiss was a protest at Russia's anti-gay laws.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in June that punishes the dissemination of information about homosexuality to minors, but activists say it can be used for a broad crackdown against gays.

Fears it could be used against participants at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics have sparked calls for a boycott of the event in some quarters and Russian officials have said all athletes will have to obey the law at the Games in February.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, is on the record as saying the law will be enforced, but yesterday said it would not infringe on the private lives of those at the Olympic Games.

Kiss: The teammates also engaged in a peck earlier straight after winning the race. Sources inside the Russian team have denied it was done in protest at anti-gay laws

Kiss: The teammates also engaged in a peck earlier straight after winning the race. Sources inside the Russian team have denied it was done in protest at anti-gay laws

NBC reported Mr Mutko as saying: 'I can say once again that the freedoms of Russian and foreign athletes and guests who come to Sochi will be absolutely protected.

'In my view, Western media, media outside Russia, give more attention to this than we do in Russia.

'We want to protect our children whose psyches have not formed from the propaganda of drug use, drunkenness and non-traditional sexual relations.'

Swedish high jumper Emma Green-Tregaro, who last week appeared at a qualifying event with her nails painted rainbow colours in support of the gay rights movement, has been warned by the IAAF regulations that she had breached its rules.

Ms Green-Tregaro has since repainted her nails red following the rebuke.
Taking a stand: Sweden's Emma Green Tregaro, who qualified to Saturday's final, said painting her nails in rainbow colours was a 'statement of what I think'

Taking a stand: Sweden's Emma Green Tregaro, who qualified to Saturday's final, said painting her nails in rainbow colours was a 'statement of what I think'

Emma, pictured in 2005, posted an image of her hails on her Instagram before the competition with the caption 'Nails painted in rainbow theme #pride'
Taking a stand: Sweden's Emma Green Tregaro, who qualified to Saturday's final, said painting her nails in rainbow colours was a 'statement of what I think'

Powerful statement: Emma, pictured in 2005, posted an image of her hails on her Instagram before the competition with the caption 'Nails painted in rainbow theme #pride'

General secretary of the Swedish athletics federation Anders Albertsson said before Saturday's high jump final that they had talked with the IAAF about the matter.

France 24 reported Mr Albertsson as saying: 'We have been informally approached by the IAAF saying that this is by definition, a breach of the regulations. We have informed our athletes about this.

'The code of conduct clearly states the rules do not allow any commercial or political statements during the competition.'

Mr Albertsson added that he personally had not put pressure on Green-Tregaro to repaint her nails, but 'understood from Swedish media her nails are now red'.

'If she knows she might be breaking the rules, that's a decision she takes, we don't have any objections on how they paint their fingernails,' said Mr Albertsson.

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva sparked outrage among the gay community last week when she condemned the ‘stunt’ by Green-Tregaro, branding it ‘disrespectful’ and describing homosexual relationships as not ‘normal’.

Attack: Isinbayeva, pictured celebrating her weekend win, hit out at Swedish athlete Emma Green-Tregaro's support for the LGBT community

Attack: Isinbayeva, pictured celebrating her weekend win, hit out at Swedish athlete Emma Green-Tregaro's support for the LGBT community

In a press conference last week, she had said: ‘It is disrespectful to our country. It is disrespectful to our citizens. We are Russians; maybe we are different to European people, to other people in other lands.’

‘We are very afraid, and this is my opinion also, that if we allow people to promote and do all this (homosexuality) in the street we are scared for our nation.

'We consider us normal people, where boys live with women, women live with boys. It comes from our history. We never had any of these problems in Russia and we don't want to have it in the future.’

She later blamed the interpretation of her comments on her 'poor English'.


The two-time Olympic champion said she does not consider homosecxual relationships normal and that Russia did not 'want this problem in the future'

Homophobic: The two-time Olympic champion said she does not consider homosexual relationships normal and that Russia did not 'want this problem in the future'


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