Sofiya Lyskun, an Ukrainian diver winner of four gold medals at the European Championship and European Diving Championship, who represented Ukraine in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, has switched international allegiances to Russia, causing turmoil at the Ukrainian Diving Federation, who say they will strip her from all her awards.
The federation said that Lyskun did not inform anyone in the Ukraine federation or the ministry of youth and sports about the change, and express their "deep indignation", saying in a statement that "such steps are categorically unacceptable, as they discredit not only an individual athlete, but also the entire Ukrainian team, which selflessly fights every day for the right to represent our country on the international stage".
As a result, they have decided unanimously that she will be immediately expelled from the Ukrainian national team and all her titles and awards won under the auspices of the Federation will be removed. They will also appeal to international sports institutions "to apply sports quarantine to the aforementioned athlete in accordance with current international standards".
"In our sports family, there are coaches and parents of athletes who have stood up and are defending Ukraine. Therefore, everyone who goes to compete under the blue-yellow flag must realize the high price of this honour and responsibility."
According to BBC, Lyskun said in a Russian newspaper that she was no longer growing under coaches in Ukraine, "who were "all gymnasts or trampoline athletes".