Olympic medalist Kovtun and his coach may change sports citizenship – Media.

Ilya Kovtun and his coach are considering the possibility of changing sports citizenship

The silver medalist of the Olympics in Paris in gymnastics, Ilya Kovtun, and his coach Irina Gorbachova are considering the possibility of changing sports citizenship. This was reported by Tribuna.com.

The 21-year-old gymnast and his coach may continue to compete for the Croatian national team. A final decision will be made by the end of this year.

It should be noted that Kovtun and Gorbachova have been preparing for competitions in Croatia for the entire 2024 year. The athlete has not returned to Ukraine since the Olympic Games.

Recall that Kovtun won a silver medal at the Olympics in Paris on parallel bars.

It is also worth mentioning that in Paris, Ilya Kovtun also has two fourth places. 

Initially, Kovtun placed fourth in the final of the all-around. His performance was commented on by former gymnast Liliya Podkopayeva, noting that the Ukrainian was criticized. 

For the second Time, Kovtun was one step away from the medal in the floor exercises.

Ilya is also the holder of a bronze and a silver medal at the World Championships in all-around. In Paris, he won his first Olympic medal in his career. Moreover, Kovtun represented Ukraine at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.