Lithuania pulls team from world event after athlete banned for anti-Russian protest shirt
The Lithuanian team withdrew from the iF3 World Championships following the disqualification of Kornelija Dudaite. This decision was made shortly after the athlete wore a shirt that criticized Russia.
1:33 PM EST, December 14, 2024
The World Functional Fitness Championships in Budapest began with controversy. Russian athletes, in accordance with the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee, were to compete as independent and neutral. However, the appearance of the name "Russia" on the athletes' cards sparked protests.
Kornelija Dudaite from Lithuania, competing in the Masters category, expressed her dissatisfaction with the organizers' errors. In protest, she wore a shirt with the slogan "make Russia small again," which led to her disqualification.
The same shirt was worn last month by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The slogan is a paraphrase of Donald Trump's campaign slogan.
The organizers asked the athlete to remove the shirt and immediately threatened her with disqualification. They also demanded that Dudaite delete from social media the photos in which she was wearing it. When she refused, she was eliminated from the competition.
Controversy over the Lithuanian's shirt
Following Dudaite's disqualification, the Lithuanian Functional Fitness Federation decided to withdraw from the championships. In a statement on Instagram, they emphasized that the organizers did not adhere to the "neutral flag" policy, which contradicts the federation's values.
Lithuanian Functional Fitness Federation has decided to withdraw from the World Championships, that is being held in in Budapest (Hungary) due to the organizers’ negligent attitude towards the "neutral flag" policy. Athletes were allowed to demonstrate the national symbols of the aggressor state during the competition – it was clearly visible in the live broadcast as well as the name of this country was mentioned continuesly [sic]. This organizers’ negligence that ignores "neutral flag" policy, is absolutely incompatible with our values, therefore the Lithuanian Functional Fitness Federation recommended national team members withdraw from the competition.
The iF3 organizers admitted their mistake and expressed regret for the situation. They emphasized that sports should remain apolitical and open to everyone and committed to improvements in the future.
