2023 JGP Budapest Pairs Free Skate

[4everchan]

The best part of this medal ceremony anyway is the Ukrainian coach putting on @NoNameFace 's crown

 

[Skating91]

Poor show of sportsmanship at the ceremony. If the couple did not want to hug, a simple polite handshake would have sufficed.

This is how the IOC have dealt with similar incidents in the past.

“The Disciplinary Commission (DC) considered that his behaviour at the end of the competition was contrary to the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic Values,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The DC issued a ‘severe reprimand for inappropriate behaviour’ to the athlete. It noted … the shaking of hands after a match is not in the competition rules of the International Judo Federation.

“As well as a severe reprimand, the DC has asked the Egyptian Olympic Committee to ensure in future that all their athletes receive proper education on the Olympic Values before coming to the Olympic Games.

 

[NaVi]

Poor show of sportsmanship at the ceremony. If the couple did not want to hug, a simple polite handshake would have sufficed.

They shouldn't have to interact at all if they don't want to. And it's really not just about their own opinion. In an alternative universe where they had reciprocated the greeting, there's a not insignificant chance that their own federation or some Ukrainian media outlet would have shamed them.

The interaction was also not a big deal. The Georgians caught on quickly.

The only reason I made my first comment was that Sierova posted it to her instagram stories like it was something to be proud of and then liked a post calling them a slur.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

Poor show of sportsmanship at the ceremony. If the couple did not want to hug, a simple polite handshake would have sufficed.

Personally i think sportsmanship is something done while the sport is going on. Not at ceremonies.

And as for the judo thing... it's not required to shake hands so why should anyone get in trouble?

 

[throw_triple_flip]

.The Georgians caught on quickly.

Going to make for some awkward possible future podiums at junior worlds/grand prix final. Or will this make it less awkward?

 

[throw_triple_flip]

The Ukrainians were very polite, if firm, about their refusal, neither pair involved in the situation here made a scene, so I don't see why we have to do it for them.

Considering Sierova's social media posts I don't think that's true. It's clearly a big deal for her.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

ETA : I rarely watch medal ceremonies. @Jumping_Bean mentions hugs were not given last year, that may explain a few more things.

The social media post from Sierova explains why. And she clearly wants people to know.

No doing it at all avoids the possibility that they might hug/shake hands with a russian person unwittingly ( more likely to happen in Pairs)

Many of those podiums last season included a russian girl skating for Australia.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Considering Sierova's social media posts I don't think that's true.

I do not follow any of these four on social media, so I can only say that at the medal ceremony, the refusal was polite and just a small shake of the head.

I've now seen the reposted story of how this is something to be proud of, and it doesn't differ from the standpoint shared by many other Ukrainian athletes, especially considering she was reposting her own skating federation. I've not seen the posts with slurs that she has supposedly liked, neither on Twitter nor on Instagram, so I can't say anything about that.

The social media post from Sierova explains why. And she clearly wants people to know.

No doing it at all avoids the possibility that they might hug/shake hands with a russian person unwittingly ( more likely to happen in Pairs)

Many of those podiums last season included a russian girl skating for Australia.

But what is interesting is that Sierova/Khobta were never the gold medalists, so they were never in a position to not offer hugs, but always in a position to have to refuse the hugs if they were offered by the Aussies.
The Aussies never offered them though, not even at the JGPF when the Ukrainians were not on the podium, so either there was some direction by the ISU/event organisers to not do hugs, or the Ukrainians had asked the Aussies to not hug them at their ceremonies and the Australians just decided to stick to that throughout the whole season. Or maybe the Australians were just more mindful of the political situation, in which case, kudos to them.

Makes me wonder what happened or didn't happen here for the Georgians to offer hugs. Maybe they thought it would paint them in a bad light if they didn't at least offer the hugs in the public eye? But nobody said anything about the lack of hugs last season, no?

 

[Skating91]

They shouldn't have to interact at all if they don't want to. And it's really not just about their own opinion. In an alternative universe where they had reciprocated the greeting, there's a not insignificant chance that their own federation or some Ukrainian media outlet would have shamed them.

Arab and/or Muslim athletes are routinely punished for refusing to compete against or acknowledge Israeli competitors. Persian athletes under pressure from their government to not compete against Israelis otherwise face punishment at home are routinely punished as well for snubbing Israeli athletes.

If the ISU isn't going to reprimand the Ukrainian pair for their lack of sportsmanship, disrespectful conduct, attempt to dehumanise the Georgian pair, then they need to do away with podium ceremonies entirely to avoid this grandstanding every time Ukrainians are on the podium.

We open a can of worms when we tolerate this kind of disrespect. There are transgender athletes now and some women take exception to this believing it is unfair. If an athlete does not want to acknowledge a transgender athlete, is this acceptable also? Something that governing bodies should shrug their shoulders at? Even Jess Owens was acknowledged in Berlin (although FDR refused to acknowledge Jesse Owens).

The interaction was also not a big deal. The Georgians caught on quickly.

The Ukrainian seemed to glare at the Georgian for several seconds while they took their place on the podium. The locker room, the ice should be a safe space for all athletes. I would feel uncomfortable about the possibility of sabotage in this kind of toxic environment if allowed to fester.

Personally i think sportsmanship is something done while the sport is going on. Not at ceremonies.

And as for the judo thing... it's not required to shake hands so why should anyone get in trouble?

No, sportsmanship extends to ceremonies. This is about basic manners, civility and respect anyway.

The Olympics would not be able to go ahead if all athletes in the world felt entitled to bully and disrespect other athletes over injustices committed by governments.

 

[Andrea82]

I do not follow any of these four on social media, so I can only say that at the medal ceremony, the refusal was polite and just a small shake of the head.

I've now seen the reposted story of how this is something to be proud of, and it doesn't differ from the standpoint shared by many other Ukrainian athletes, especially considering she was reposting her own skating federation. I've not seen the posts with slurs that she has supposedly liked, neither on Twitter nor on Instagram, so I can't say anything about that.


But what is interesting is that Sierova/Khobta were never the gold medalists, so they were never in a position to not offer hugs, but always in a position to have to refuse the hugs if they were offered by the Aussies.
The Aussies never offered them though, not even at the JGPF when the Ukrainians were not on the podium, so either there was some direction by the ISU/event organisers to not do hugs, or the Ukrainians had asked the Aussies to not hug them at their ceremonies and the Australians just decided to stick to that throughout the whole season. Or maybe the Australians were just more mindful of the political situation, in which case, kudos to them.

Makes me wonder what happened or didn't happen here for the Georgians to offer hugs. Maybe they thought it would paint them in a bad light if they didn't at least offer the hugs in the public eye? But nobody said anything about the lack of hugs last season, no?

I can guess that for Junior athletes who had their first major events during and just after Covid years, the perception of some "norms" could be a bit different. There were restrictions and they didn't fully experience how was done before 2020.
The 2022 ISU guidelines still had "No hand shaking or hugs between the medalists and / or award presenters are allowed." (even if some were already doing the hugs).
Now it is all back as it was including referee and technical controller extending the congratulations to the medallists.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

Arab and/or Muslim athletes are routinely punished for refusing to compete against or acknowledge Israeli competitors. Persian athletes under pressure from their government to not compete against Israelis otherwise face punishment at home are routinely punished as well for snubbing Israeli athletes.

If the ISU isn't going to reprimand the Ukrainian pair for their lack of sportsmanship, disrespectful conduct, attempt to dehumanise the Georgian pair, then they need to do away with podium ceremonies entirely to avoid this grandstanding every time Ukrainians are on the podium.

We open a can of worms when we tolerate this kind of disrespect. There are transgender athletes now and some women take exception to this believing it is unfair. If an athlete does not want to acknowledge a transgender athlete, is this acceptable also? Something that governing bodies should shrug their shoulders at? Even Jess Owens was acknowledged in Berlin (although FDR refused to acknowledge Jesse Owens).


The Ukrainian seemed to glare at the Georgian for several seconds while they took their place on the podium. The locker room, the ice should be a safe space for all athletes. I would feel uncomfortable about the possibility of sabotage in this kind of toxic environment if allowed to fester.



No, sportsmanship extends to ceremonies. This is about basic manners, civility and respect anyway.

The Olympics would not be able to go ahead if all athletes in the world felt entitled to bully and disrespect other athletes over injustices committed by governments.

You do realise this amount hyperbole sounds silly?

Personally, I disagree with your views on sportmanship meaning you have to hug/shake hands at the ceremony as well. As long as people are cordial and don't cause a ruckus/start being abusive I don't think there's much of a problem. And as for your first point- they didn't refuse to compete against them. Which is an entirely different thing anyway.

As for accusing them of bullying/dehumanising the other team at the actual ceremony- it was a bit awkward but no real harm done.


Anyway, I'm not really sure if political discussion is allowed on here so I'm going to stop now. Sorry to the mods if it's not allowed.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I can guess that for Junior athletes who had their first major events during and just after Covid years, the perception of some "norms" could be a bit different. There were restrictions and they didn't fully experience how was done before 2020.
The 2022 ISU guidelines still had "No hand shaking or hugs between the medalists and / or award presenters are allowed." (even if some were already doing the hugs).
Now it is all back as it was including referee and technical controller extending the congratulations to the medallists.

What's interesting is that we had tons of podium hugs in all of the other junior disciplines, but none in pairs whatsoever last season. Watching the other podium ceremonies, you wouldn't have known that the rules against hugs and handshakes were technically still in effect.
It seems to me that the gold medalists usually followed what the silver medalists were doing, so if they gave hugs, the gold medalists would do so too, and if they didn't the gold medalists usually wouldn't either.

 

[cheerknithanson]

I was altered I was quite tweeted and now it’s gone.