Swedish athlete at Moscow Athletics Championship paints nails in rainbow colours against anti-gay law
A Swedish athlete at the World Athletics Championships currently taking place in Moscow, has made a stand against anti-gay laws introduced in Russia in June, by painting her nails in rainbow colours.
High jumper Emma Green-Tregaro, 28, made the show of support for Russia’s LGBT community by painting her nails in the rainbow colours for the qualifying round of the event.
“It felt right,” she said, also telling Reuters that she got the idea when she saw an actual rainbow over Moscow. “I wouldn’t say it was a protest more of a statement of what I think.”
“When I first came to Moscow, the first thing I saw when I opened the curtains was a rainbow over Moscow and I thought that was a pretty good sign,” she said, continuing to say that 200 meters runner Moa Hjelmer had also done the same.
“I hadn’t thought about it before then I decided to paint my nails. I usually do my nails in something that feels good for me and it was a simple way of showing what I think.”
The issue of foreign athletes competing in Russia has cause an international outcry ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics due to take place in February.
President Vladimir Putin signed the law in June banning the promotion of “non-traditional relationships” toward minors, a move that has been criticised as part of a broader crackdown on Russia’s gay community. Other laws banning the adoption of Russian children by foreign same-sex couples, and one which enables organisations receiving funding from abroad to be fined as “foreign agents”, were also passed.
The laws have so far sparked controversy among LGBT activists, with some calling for a boycott of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Others have also called to boycott Russian vodka as a form of protest.
