Skaters remove flags to support Russian champion
Two foreign junior figure skaters, Li Yanhao from New Zealand and Daiki Ebihara from Japan, removed their national flags during a photo with Russian skater Lev Lazarev after he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Xi'an, China, in solidarity with him as he competed under a neutral status.
Consensus
- The event took place at the first stage of the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Xi'an,China.
- Lev Lazarev, a Russian figure skater, won gold in the men's singles event.
- Lazarev competed under a neutral status and did not display a national flag.
- Li Yanhao from New Zealand finished second and Daiki Ebihara from Japan finished third.
- After the medal ceremony, Li Yanhao proposed removing their flags to take a photo with Lazarev.
- Both Li Yanhao and Ebihara agreed and removed their flags in solidarity.
- Russian skaters won all four disciplines at the event.
- The event occurred between August 20 and 22.
- The ISU allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under neutral status in international events.
Points of divergence
- Lev Lazarev scored 250.21 points, with 86.76 in the short program and 163.45 in the free program. — vm
- Irina Rodnina, a three-time Olympic champion and State Duma deputy, called the Russian juniors 'brave' but stated their victories could not be called 'gold'. — vm
- Sofia Dzepka won in women's singles, Maria Feofelova and Artem Valov won in ice dancing, and Polina Shechelova and Yegor Karnaukhov won in pair skating. — vesti
- The ISU allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under neutral status for the upcoming season. — m24
Coverage (3 sources)
- New Zealander and Japanese person supported Russian figure skater by removing their flags — Вести
- Figurists from New Zealand and Japan lowered flags to support Russian — Вечерняя Москва
- Foreign skaters removed their country flags in solidarity with Lazarev — Москва 24
Key entities
More on Lev Lazarev
- Sofia Dzepka Wins Junior GP Stage, Secures Final Spot
- Russian skater Lazarev wins junior Grand Prix in China
- Russian juniors sweep all golds at ISU Grand Prix in China