13 -year -old Ukrainian athlete refuses to share the podium with Russian athlete

Yevhenii Melnyk, a 13 -year -old Ukrainian Karateca, starred in a protest gesture that is running world. During the delivery of medals from an international competition in Guadalajara, Spain, the athlete refused to share the podium with Igor Grigorev, Russian karateca that won the gold.

Despite reaching the bronze, Yevhenii decided not to go to the third step and left discreetly from the room, refusing to pose next to the opponent – a gesture that surprised the audience and Grigorev himself.

Yevhenii’s act has added to other manifestations of Ukrainian sportsmen since the beginning of the Ukraine invasion of Russia in 2022, reinforcing the symbolism of sport as a form of peaceful resistance.