Astashov
At the award ceremony of the Russian para-athlete Mikhail Astaschow there was a strange hymn glitch on Friday.
The Russian had won the gold medal in the bike pursuit race over 3,000 meters. The oops happened at the award ceremony. Instead of the anthem of the Russian Paralympic Committee, the anthem of the International Paralympic Committee was played.
Masa Takaya, spokesman for the organizers of the games in Tokyo, clarified the matter a little later. It was an “operator error”. The organizers apologized after playing the wrong anthem to the Russian para-athlete and then played the correct anthem.
Russia sent 241 para-athletes to the Games in Tokyo. Due to the Russian doping ban, they are not allowed to start under the Russian flag, but represent the Russian Paralympic Committee. At the award ceremony, the piano concerto number 1 by Peter Tchaikovsky will be performed instead of the Russian anthem, and the Paralympic flag will also be hoisted.
