Moscow – Russian pole vault legend Yelena Isinbayeva has attempted on Friday to play down the furor provoked by her anti-gay remarks, saying she was “misunderstood” and opposed to discrimination against homosexuals. Isinbayeva triggered outrage at the Moscow World Athletics Championships when she fired off an emotional rant in support of a controversial Russian anti-gay law and declared that in Russia “we just live with boys with women, women with boys.” With her reputation as one of the world’s most popular athletes at stake, the 31-year-old issued a statement saying she was “opposed to any discrimination against gay people”. “English is not my first language and I think I may have been misunderstood when I spoke yesterday,” said Isinbayeva, who only on Tuesday had regained her pole vault world title in Moscow after several years in the doldrums. However, she stopped short of issuing an apology or withdrawing her support for Russia’s now notorious “gay propaganda” law. more
