Gold medalist Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova of Russia kiss in Moscow. (Photo: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
BY SARA GATES
Huffington Post Gay Voices
After winning the 4×400-meter relay at World Athletics Championships Saturday, runners Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova shared a kiss. Then the gold medalists kissed again during the award ceremony. While some speculated that the Russian athletes’ kiss on the winners podium was an apparent jab at the country’s anti-gay law, local media questioned whether it was a political gesture or simply a congratulatory embrace.
Neither athlete has released a statement, so the kiss may have been just that — a kiss. However, as Gay Star News notes, the Russian athletes’ kiss does violate the anti-gay law passed by Russia’s parliament earlier this year. So the two women could, theoretically, be prosecuted for their public lip-lock, since it could be perceived as propagating non-traditional sexual relations.
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