Tatyana Navka, Olympic figure skating champion and wife of presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, criticized men who practice rhythmic gymnastics. She dedicated a post to this topic on Instagram.

Culture shock: Navka spoke out against men's rhythmic gymnastics. This angered her colleagues.

Tatyana Navka, Olympic figure skating champion and wife of presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, criticized men who practice rhythmic gymnastics. She dedicated a post to this topic on Instagram.

Navka posted a video recording of the performance of athlete Christopher Benitez at the first King's Cup in men's gymnastics, which was held in Spain in 2019. In the video, a man in a sports swimsuit performs a gymnastic number with a ribbon. The figure skater was perplexed by these shots.

French figure skater Gabriella Papadakis commented on this statement in her story. She reproached Navka for a lack of respect for people and their ways of expressing themselves. “I consider these words a public destructive and painful attack. My sympathy and support to those who were hurt by these unacceptable comments,” she added.

She was joined by the winner of several world championships in ice dancing Caitlin Weaver. She stated that she had ceased to consider Navka an idol.

“I'm sorry you can't look beyond your experience. You have always been an idol to me. Your post became for me the realization of the sad truth, since you are no longer such for me, ”the skater wrote.

Navka immediately reacted to criticism from colleagues and stated that she did not want to offend anyone with her statement. At the same time, she stressed that she has a strong opinion and her own understanding on this matter, namely, the confidence that a man should remain in a masculine appearance. She stated that she wanted to raise her children in a healthy society.

Instagram users condemned the skater's point of view. In the comments under the post, many wrote that a person is free to do whatever he likes. Others wondered why then Navka is not embarrassed that ballet dancers and figure skaters also perform in tight tights. They also wrote about women in “male” sports and professions.