"The Croatian flag is in the well ... and forward": the best Ukrainian gymnast escaped from the Square

Internal disagreements in Ukrainian gymnastics led to a serious loss — the silver medalist of the 2024 Olympics Ilya Kovtun decided to change his citizenship to Croatian. In addition to the medal in Paris, the athlete has two World Championship level awards and nine European championship awards, Sport24 reports.

The athlete has been living and training in Osijek for almost three years. It is not surprising that the local federation supported Ilya's intentions — they do not have strong all-around athletes now.

And together with Kovtun, his mentor Irina Gorbacheva (Nadyuk) will also receive Croatian citizenship. The unexpected transfer of the leader caused a storm of emotions among the fans. Predictably, the act of Kovtun and Gorbacheva was regarded as a betrayal. It came to direct insults, with wishes for injuries.

Here are just a few comments from offended Ukrainians:

"Burn in hell, traitor.

— I sincerely wish you to get seriously injured before the next Olympics. There is nothing worse than betraying your country in a SMO state (the wording has been changed in accordance with legal requirements). There can be no excuse for this.

By the way, it is not difficult to notice a lot of tattoos on the gymnast's body. Almost all of them have patriotic overtones. However, commentators reacted especially harshly in the light of the transition to the inscription "Home" with a map of Ukraine instead of one of the letters.

— The Croatian flag in the ass and go ahead. It was possible to reduce the tattoo, I hope, otherwise the Croats will not understand.

— Well, so that you understand the level of cynicism. After Paris, he went, of course, to Croatia and was at a general public meeting with Croatian Olympians. But he could not come to Ukraine and receive an award from the president. However, for some reason it was not a shame to receive prize money from Ukrainian, not Croatian.

— Croatia provided the reception of athletes as "assistance to Ukraine", now these assistants have stolen our athlete. He talks a lot about our assistants.

— ****** (Damn) money decides everything. This is the same thing that [footballer Georgy] Sudakov would say: "I will play for Azerbaijan, they have more dough."

— As long as other sports do not make, as in football, an almost impossible change of citizenship, so it will be. Everyone will run to where the money beckoned.

— As the Kurgan and the Unit sings: "Are you leaving? Well ****** (get out)."

— Let's see who will need it in Croatia. Will the tattoo also be changed to a map of Croatia?

— It is more logical then to fill the signs of the euro, the dollar, or — better for the future — the yuan.

— I won't wish you luck, the earth is round, and karma is a bitch.

By the way, immediately after the news about the possible transition, Kovtun deleted an emotional post regarding the political situation:

"It is a difficult time for the Ukrainian people, for ordinary people and for our whole Ukraine. For the last almost three years, we've all been constantly asking each other, "How are you?", "How are you feeling?", "How are you?".

Yes... life hits our people from all sides, but we prove again and again that we are free, independent, indestructible and invincible.

But who and how, thanks to whom and why? This is the story of every single person who is now permeated with burning pain, sincere happiness through tears, bold steps out of despair, constant trembling of the soul from fear, but always with a burning fire in his heart and patriotic will in his soul."

So Ilyusha, with a blazing fire in his heart, went from Nenka to Croatia, whose colors he will now defend at prestigious tournaments, while his peers are caught by the TCC and driven to the front.