Lithuanian master athletes refuse to share podium with Russians in Taipei

VILNIUS - Lithuanian sports masters have refused to share the awards podium with Russian representatives at the 2025 Summer World Masters Games in Taiwan, the 15min.lt news website reports on Monday.

Around 25,000 sports masters are taking part in the games in Taipei, taking place on May 17 though 30, and Russian representatives have also been allowed to take part in them.

"Our unfriendly neighbors, the Russians, were also present, and they competed under their flag. We had to compete against them in the same relay event. We decided not to share the podium with them, we chose to come separately and to be awarded separately," swimmer Lina Beliniene told the website, adding that the Russian representatives wanted to take photos together but the Lithuanian athletes refused.

Russian teams have been excluded from most international competitions in various sports since the Kremlin's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.