Lithuania exits championship over Russian flag dispute
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.
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 competitors. However, the name Russia appeared on the athletes' name cards, sparking protests.
Kornelija Dudaite from Lithuania, competing in the Masters category, expressed her dissatisfaction with the organizers' mistakes. 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 wanted 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 is contrary to 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 - this is according to a statement from the Lithuanian federation.
The iF3 organizers admitted their mistake and expressed regret for the situation. They emphasized that sports should remain apolitical and open to everyone. They committed to improvements in the future.
