\n
Lithuanian police started an investigation \u200bon Monday after an assistant at the Powerlifting Championships \u200bsaid he sabotaged a Black athlete’s squat \u200cattempt \u200bdue to racism – a statement he later said was written to mock those accusing him of racism.<\/p>\n
Assistant Ernestas Kusinas, one of the safety crew watching over the athletes as \u200cthey competed, placed his knee under Belgian champion Sonita Muluh’s barbell, resulting in a failed attempt to squat 334.5 kg, said the president of the Lithuanian Powerlifting Federation which hosted the event in June. The Lithuanian federation referred the case to police after Kusinas \u200ccommented on Instagram: “I am racist, and I did it intentionally.”<\/p>\n
A police spokesperson told Reuters the investigation will focus on \u200cthe Instagram message and events at the championship, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Kusinas told Reuters his Instagram comment was written out of anger, in response to racism accusations, and was intended not as a statement but as a mockery of the accusations.<\/p>\n
“I threw him the bone \u2060he wanted,” \u200badded Kusinas, referring to an \u2060unidentified social media user who he said had accused him of racism. Kusinas said he unintentionally interfered with Muluh’s and other athletes’ attempts because he was \u2060tired after his duties at the event.<\/p>\n
Muluh, 29, a Cameroon-born Belgian athlete, has won medals at several Powerlifting Championships and became world champion \u200bin 2024. MISSED BY JUDGES<\/p>\n
The Lithuanian federation barred Kusinas from all events, while the International Powerlifting Federation condemned racism and \u2060hateful conduct in a statement. The incident was missed by judges, but was noticed in video recordings after the event, the Lithuanian federation’s president, Domantas Barauskas, said.<\/p>\n
Barauskas \u2060said \u200bvideos show Kusinas, a longtime spotter, interfering with other athletes’ squat attempts, including a white Swedish powerlifter’s. Muluh’s partner Kristof De Coninck said she could have won if her final squat attempt had not been tampered with, and that poor \u2060assistance risked “very serious injuries.”<\/p>\n
“Initially, we thought it was a mistake,” said De Coninck. “But then … it became clear (because of the social media \u2060comment) that the person had \u2060done it deliberately, motivated by racial bias.” He added that Kusinas had not contacted them after the event.<\/p>\n
De Coninck said Muluh welcomed the Lithuanian police investigation, and was putting together an \u200cinternal complaint with \u200cthe IPF. (Writing by Andrius Sytas, Reporting by Andrius Sytas, Charlotte Van \u200bCampenhout, Editing by Ken Ferris)<\/p>\n
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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