RIA Novosti Roundup -- Sprinters Deny Protest; Stadium Closure; Ortega Defects

Russian Sprinters Deny Podium Kiss was an Act of Protest

Russian sprinters Ksenia Ryzhova and Yulia Guschina said Tuesday they are outraged at the reaction to their now-infamous podium kiss at the world athletics championships and denied it was an act of protest against Russia's controversial anti-gay law.

"Yesterday I got calls from probably 20 different media outlets and instead of congratulating us for the gold medal, they decided to insult me and Julia and the entire federation," Ryzhova said at a Moscow press conference.

Ryzhova and Guschina are members of Russia’s gold medal-winning 4x400m relay team.

A photograph of the podium smooch circulated widely in international media, with many outlets suggesting the kiss was a premediated act of defiance and a possible test of the law.

Guschina slammed the image as the photographer's "sick fantasy."

Ryzhova also emphasized to reporters that she and Guschina are both married and have "no personal relationship."

"We’ve trained for eight years in the same group and there’s a really good friendship between us," she said.

The contentious law bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors, though there remains a great deal of uncertainty over how it will be enforced.

Amid international calls for a boycott of next February's Sochi 2014 Olympics, the controversy hovered lightly over the world championships, with Russian pole vault great and reigning gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva vehemently defending the law on Thursday only to say later her comments "may have been misunderstood."

Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro garnered attention that day when she painted her fingernails rainbow colors in support of gay rights during qualification. She competed in the final two days later with red paint after Swedish athletics officials told her doing so again might be in violation of IAAF conduct.

The championships concluded on Sunday.

Moscow Stadium Closure Stalls Athletics Progress - ARAF Head

With the closure of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium and no suitable alternative venue to host track and field events, there is little chance the Russian capital will be able to stage top-level athletics competitions in the near future, the president of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) said Tuesday.

His remarks come two days after the end of the world athletics championships - the most high-profile international track and field competition after the Olympics - in Moscow, which saw Russia emerge as the surprise medals leader with seven gold and 17 overall.

Following the Sunday closing ceremony, host venue Luzhniki was effectively shuttered until 2017 for an $800 million refurbishment program to prepare for the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

"In the near future we’ll be able to carry virtually no major athletics championships in Moscow," president Valentin Balakhnichev said at a Moscow press conference.

"Now there’s a great danger that the development of athletics in Moscow will be hindered."

He said discussions with IAAF president Lamine Diack about adding Moscow to the Diamond League circuit went nowhere "because we do not have the appropriate stadium."

The massive Luzhniki, which had its 75,000-seat capacity reduced to 35,000 for the championships, was fitted with an eight-lane, 48-inch Mondotrack in 2012, the same running surface used at the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Russian Church Defends Isinbayeva Amid Gay Remark Criticism

A Russian Orthodox Church spokesman on Tuesday urged the global media to stop putting pressure on Russian pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva, who has been fiercely criticized for recent anti-gay remarks.

"As the media campaign against Isinbayeva shows, many global media outlets in recent years seem to have changed their attitude toward the notion of freedom to express opinion," Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said.

He added that criticism of Isinbayeva should be viewed as a demonstration of disrespect for the majority of Russians, who support the ban on promoting homosexual relationships toward minors. According to various Russian pollsters, about 80 percent of Russians are in favor of the ban.

When asked by a reporter about the ban on holding public pro-gay events in the presence of minors, Isinbayeva said in English that "if we will allow to promote and do all this stuff on the streets, we are very afraid for our nation."

After creating a storm of fury from world sports commentators and gay advocacy groups alike, she backtracked on Friday, reframing her words as simply the desire to see local laws respected.

Cuban Hurdler Ortega Flees Delegation in Moscow - Report

A Cuban sprint hurdler has deserted his country's delegation in Moscow after this month's world athletics championships in the Russian capital, his country's athletics federation appeared to say on Wednesday.

Orlando Ortega, 22, failed to make the final of the 110m hurdles last week but has since reportedly disappeared, in a case the Cuban Athletics Federation appeared to call "deplorable."

"The Cuban Athletics Federation reports that the 110m hurdles runner Orland Ortega has abandoned the island's delegation attending the recently concluded world championships in Moscow," a statement (originally in Spanish) on the deporcuba.com website said.

The site describes itself as a "blog specializing in sports information," and its connection to the athletics federation was not immediately clear.

"The decision to renounce the cause of a country that allowed him to train as an athlete deprives him of the honor of competing in the ranks of a sports movement that is anchored in its values," the statement said.

The Cuban Embassy in Moscow appeared to confirm Ortega's disappearance but refused to elaborate in comments to RIA Novosti.

"You have the information of the FCA," a spokesperson told the state news agency, referring to the federation's acronym. "We can't give you any more information."

Ortega was among 14 Cuban athletes competing in the August 10-18 championships at Luzhniki Stadium. Ortega's best international achievement is a bronze medal in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara; he made the final of the London 2012 Olympics last year but finished sixth.

His reported disappearance comes two months after his countryman and Beijing 2008 Olympic champion Dayron Robles was banned from representing Cuba for unspecified "problems of discipline and sportsmanship," the federation said.

Ortega himself was suspended in July on similarly vague charges of "serious indiscipline" but the ban was lifted ahead of the Moscow championships.

updated at 12:40 with quotes from Cuban Embassy