A Russian Olympic skater has apologized for giving the bird after a victory over the United States.
Daniil Aldoshkin confirmed to the media that he meant no offense to anyone after making a middle finger gesture as he crossed the finish line.
Aldoshkin, along with two teammates, claimed silver in the men’s pursuit after knocking out the United States team from the gold medal showpiece.
“I threw up my hands,” Aldoshkin said. “I have the first medal, the first Olympics. I didn’t mean anything like that. I’m sorry if this offended anyone.”
One of Aldoshkin’s teammates (Ruslan Zakharov) defended his reaction after crossing the finish line.
“In speed skating, we fight against time, not against an opponent. It was purely an emotional reaction,” he said.
With this silver medal, the ROC team now has seven silvers in Beijing, along with 20 total medals. Norway still leads the world with 26 medals, though Germany and the U.S. are at 18 and 17 medals respectively.
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