Two Swedish athletes at the World Track and Field Championships in Moscow have painted their fingernails with rainbow colors to show solidarity with LGBT people and their opposition to anti-gay laws in Russia. In response, a Russian pole vaulter has condemned the athletes and gay people in general. In response, Yelena Isinbayeva — who won the women’s pole vault — said what the Swedes did was insulting to their hosts, and then had this to say about gays:
“If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people,” Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic champion, said in English. “We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys. Everything must be fine. It comes from history. We never had any problems, these problems in Russia, and we don’t want to have any in the future.” more
