21-year-old Ukrainian gymnast and Olympic medalist Ilya Kovtun officially changed his sports citizenship and will perform under the flag of Croatia. Such information made public International Gymnastics Federation after the meeting of the Executive Committee in Lausanne.
Back in January 2024, Kovtun confirmed his intention to represent Croatia, where he has been and has been training since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His trainer Iryna Gorbachova repeatedly mentioned the strained relationship with the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation — this, along with other factors, also influenced the athlete’s decision.
Kovtun emphasized that the adoption of such a step was not instantaneous and is not reduced only to the circumstances of the war. He noted that he has gone through a lot of changes over the past three years, and ultimately decided to move in the direction he feels is right for him going forward.
“When I won the Olympic medal, it seemed that in Croatia this victory was received with more enthusiasm than in Ukraine. But I understand that the Ukrainians now have much more serious problems.” – said the sportsman.
Ilya is currently training in the city of Osijek and is awaiting the completion of legal procedures. According to preliminary forecasts, the debut as part of the new national team is possible no earlier than July 2026. The gymnast admitted that he faced a wave of aggressive comments on social networks, but he does not blame people — on the contrary, he says that he understands the emotional state of Ukrainians who live in constant stress due to war events.
He thanked the Croatian side for their support, especially coach Volodymyr Madžarevic and official Marko Pipunić, who are actively helping him adapt to the new sports system.
We will remind, in August 2024, Ilya Kovtun won his first Olympic medal for Ukraine – silver. Less than a year later, he initiated the process of changing sports citizenship.
