A day after condemning homosexuality, Russian pole vault great Yelena Isinbayeva appeared to back off from her critical words on Friday by saying her comments in English might have been misunderstood. The two-time Olympic gold medalist supported Russia’s new anti-gay law on Thursday and criticized two Swedish competitors for their rainbow-colored fingernails in support of gay rights. “English is not my first language and I think I may have been misunderstood when I spoke yesterday. What I wanted to say was that people should respect the laws of other countries particularly when they are guests,” Isinbayeva said in a statement issued through local world championships organizers. “I respect the views of my fellow athletes and let me state in the strongest terms that I am opposed to any discrimination against gay people.” more
