Shubenkov overwhelmed by hero’s welcome in Russia
moscow — Sergey Shubenkov arrived home in his native Russia on Wednesday night to a noisy reception from jubilant supporters after becoming the first Russian neutral athlete to win a medal at the World Championships in London.
The 26-year-old failed to retain his 110 metres hurdles world title, winning silver behind Jamaica’s Omar McLeod in Monday’s final.
Shubenkov’s silver was the first major international medal won by any Russian athlete since the country’s athletics federation was suspended over a 2015 World AntiDoping Agency report exposing systematic doping in the sport.
Although he was disappointed with his second place, Shubenkov said the circumstances surrounding his status as a neutral athlete gave the achievement a different meaning.
“I feel like I am being congratulated more now than if I had won gold and if I had won it as part of the normal Russian team,” Shubenkov said at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport before taking a connecting flight to his Siberian hometown of Barnaul.
Shubenkov has also been praised by Russian officials, who have largely supported athletes’ efforts to compete as neutrals.
“After such a long suspension from international competitions, a silver like this is equivalent to a gold,” TASS news agency quoted sports minister Pavel Kolobkov as saying.
Unlike at the last two world championships in Beijing and Moscow, where Shubenkov won gold and bronze respectively, he could not wear his country’s colours in London. “It was of course a little strange not to see the Russian flag at the medals ceremony,” he said. —