International Canoe Federation censors “I am Ukrainian” inscription on Ukrainian athlete’s boat

The International Canoe Federation ordered the removal of the phrase "I am Ukrainian" from the boat of Ukrainian canoeist Anastasiia Rybachok, who is participating in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The partner company BGV Group, which purchased the boat for the athlete, reported this.

The Ukrainian canoeist created her own custom-designed boat for the Olympic competitions.

Anastasiia Rybachok, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games and is also a multiple-time world and European champion, will participate in the 500-meter double canoe and 200-meter single canoe events this year.

However, on August 7, BGV Group announced that the International Canoe Federation had found the inscription "I am Ukrainian." They deemed the phrase, found on Anastasia's boat, propaganda and demanded that it be partially painted over.

^{Photo: Facebook / BGV Group Management}

The International Olympic Committee prohibits any war-related inscriptions from being placed on boats. For instance, athletes are not allowed to write phrases such as "Stop War."

"But the inscription I am Ukrainian is something else. It indicates our belonging to Ukraine, and it is important. It is first of all a symbol of faith in me and my capabilities. When creating a design for a canoe, I tried to emphasize that I am from Ukraine, and I am incredibly proud of that," the company quotes the athlete's words.

At the time of this article's publication, the Canoe Federation of Ukraine and Anastasia Rybachok had not yet provided official comments. Journalists are now trying to contact them for more information.

For reference:

Anastasiia Rybachok is the only representative of the Zhytomyr region at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and her participation in the competition is an essential event for Ukrainian sports.

Rubryka previously announced that Rubachok, who won the silver medal at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo, is planning to bring home medals again this year. However, in April of last year, she had given birth to a child and did not anticipate qualifying for the Olympics in Paris.

After giving birth, she resumed training in just a few weeks and won the Ukrainian championship three months later. Rubryka spoke with Anastasia Rybachok, a canoeist competing for Ukraine in the Olympic Games for the second time. Read more about her journey in Rubryka's article "I hope for gold: the story of canoeist Anastasiia Rybachok, Ukraine's representative at Paris Olympics"

It is worth adding that on August 7 at the Olympic Games in Paris, representatives of the Ukrainian national team will compete in 7 disciplines: in total, athletes from different parts of the world will compete for two dozen sets of awards.