Angelina Melnikova, the 2020 Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics, shared photos from the pool on her page on the social network Instagram (the owner of the company Meta is known as an extremist in Russia and is banned).
In the images, the gymnast poses in the water in a white bikini swimsuit.
At the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Melnikova won the Olympic gold medal in the team event, as well as bronze medals in the individual all-around and floor exercises. At the 2016 Games, the gymnast won the silver medal in the team championships.
At the 2021 World Championships, Melnikova won the gold medal in the all-around event. She also has three silver and three bronze medals at the world championships. The Russian athlete became a three-time European champion and a two-time European Games champion.
In 2022, against the background of the start of SVO in Ukraine, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach recommended that international federations exclude Russian athletes from international competitions.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced in July that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in neutral status under the auspices of the organization from January 1, 2024.
Previously in the Russian national team criticized Melnikov.