Yelena Isinbayeva Condemned For Supporting Russia's Anti-Gay Legislation

There is growing pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to remove pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva from her ambassadorial role after the Russian supported the country's anti-gay legislation.
Isinbayeva, 31, criticised high jumper Emma Green-Tregaro for opposing Russia's new law, which makes it illegal to give under-18s information about homosexuality.
"It's disrespectful to our country, disrespectful to our citizens because we are Russians," Isinbayeva, speaking in English, said at the Moscow World Championships.
"Maybe we are different than European people and people from different lands.
"We have our law which everyone has to respect. When we go to different countries, we try to follow their rules. We are not trying to set our rules over there. We are just trying to be respectful.
"We consider ourselves, like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys... it comes from the history."

Note
Yelena Isinbayeva, who won pole vault gold at the Luzhniki Stadium this week, spoke out after Swedish athletes including Green-Tregaro and Moa Hjelmer wore rainbow colours to highlight their opposition to the law

Moa Hjelmer's rainbow-coloured nails highlighted her opposition

 

 US runner Nick Symmonds dedicated his world 800 metres silver medal to his gay and lesbian friends