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Russian speedskater Daniil Aldoshkin has apologized for throwing a double-bird after defeating Team USA in the men’s team pursuit semifinals on Tuesday in Beijing.
“I threw up my hands, I have the first medal, the first Olympics,” Aldoshkin, 20, said, via RT.com. “I didn’t mean anything like that. I’m sorry if this offended anyone.”
The speedskater raised two middle fingers soon after he passed the finish line with teammates Ruslan Zakharov and Sergey Trofimov — securing silver for the ROC, and a ticket to the gold medal race.
Norway took gold in Tuesday’s event, and the U.S. won bronze.
Zakharov defended his reaction after crossing the finish line.
“In speed skating, we fight against time, not against an opponent. It was purely an emotional reaction,” Zakharov said, per RT.
Russian Skating Union president Alexei Kravtsov also apologized for Aldoshkin’s post-race celebration — but said the speedskater’s actions were fueled by “an outburst of emotion” after his performance.
“Emotions took over at the finish line, there was no subtext in this action,” Kravtsov said, via RT. “We are sorry if someone differently perceived this situation and (it) offended someone. On behalf of the Russian Skating Union, we offer our official apologies.”
Aldoshkin later took to Instagram to reflect on winning silver in Tuesday’s race.
“I want to write a lot of words, I want to express a lot of emotions, but then there will be too much text. In short, everything worked out!” he wrote alongside a collage of photos from the Beijing Olympics.
“Once in an interview, I created a bar for myself, according to which I evaluate my results to this day – if the Coach is satisfied, then I should be satisfied. The coach yesterday was satisfied, I hope in general, many thanks to everyone, you have no idea how nice it is to receive words of support and congratulations from everyone,” Aldoshkin continued, later adding, “P.s silver treats bruises under the eyes.”
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