Russian Olympic medallist Konstantin Volkov calls Serhiy Bubka "just a kolkhoz"

Legendary Ukrainian track and field athlete Serhiy Bubka, who set world records in pole vault 35 times, has found himself at the centre of a scandal following offensive remarks made by a Russian sportsman. Konstantin Volkov, silver medallist at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, accused the Ukrainian of using doping, which he claimed contributed to his high results.

Public humiliation and ideological aggression

Volkov made these statements during an interview with the propaganda outlet Sport-Express. The Russian athlete not only mocked Bubka's ambitions to become president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but also expressed outrage that the Ukrainian sportsman had opposed the admission of Russian track and field athletes to international competitions after the start of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

During the conversation, Volkov recalled his last meeting with Bubka in Donetsk, where the latter discussed his plans to run for the position of IOC president. The Russian sportsman responded as follows:

"Сергію, у тебе суперник Томас Бах. Фехтування – аристократичний вид спорту. Бах – це прізвище давніх німецьких родів. А ти хто? Ти – Бубка. Просто колгосп", – сказав Волков. ("Serhiy, your rival is Thomas Bach. Fencing is an aristocratic sport. Bach is a surname of ancient German families. And who are you? You are Bubka. Just a kolkhoz," Volkov said.)

He also added that he would no longer shake hands with Bubka after the latter spoke out against the participation of Russian track and field athletes in competitions. Volkov emphasised that doping and other cases are currently completely excluded for athletes from Russia and Belarus, unlike in previous years when, according to him, Bubka's results were "pure pharmacology".

Context of political attacks

It should be noted that as early as March this year, calls emerged to strip Serhiy Bubka of the title of Hero of Ukraine. However, the Verkhovna Rada did not support the corresponding petition to President Volodymyr Zelensky.