FILE PHOTO: Russian gymnast Nikita Nagornyy attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - Olympic champion Nikita Nagornyy found it unacceptable that Russian gymnasts were barred from competing at the Paris Games due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, saying his country's exclusion would be remembered as one of the worst moments of Olympic history.
Nagornyy, who has shown support for Russian troops taking part in war in Ukraine, was a member of the gold medal-winning team competing as neutrals at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
"I'm very disappointed that we've found ourselves in this crisis as part of sport and could not compete and prove ourselves," Nagornyy wrote on Instagram on the opening day of the Olympic men's gymnastics competition at Bercy Arena in Paris.
"The Olympics unite not only people, but also all countries. But now, unfortunately, this is not the case. I am sure this situation will be considered as one of the worst in the history of the Olympic Games."
Nagornyy, who added that he wished luck to the gymnasts competing in Paris, took bronze in the all-around and the horizontal bar in Tokyo, as well as silver in the team event at Rio 2016.
Some Russians and Belarusians can compete at the Games but only as individuals with no flag or anthem, and had to pass a screening process designed to root out anyone who has publicly supported the war or military.
Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 under what Moscow calls a "special operation", has denounced the measure by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as politically motivated.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by)
