Down-the-line.com / Swimming. Double Olympic swimming champion Evgeny Rylov has spoken of the nine-month suspension imposed on him by the International Swimming Federation (FINA). The organization disqualified the athlete for attending a rally-concert in Luzhniki. It was timed to coincide with the date of Crimea’s annexation to Russia.

Rylov spoke about verification by FINA after his participation in the Russian championship

“Disqualified and disqualified, I do not lose much. I was invited to a concert dedicated to Crimea and the people [FINA] did not like. I think this is wrong. On the territory of my country, I myself can choose what to do. I shouldn’t be loved by everyone – only my girlfriend, my mother and my mother-in-law (laughs),” Rylov said on the Russia 24 TV channel.