Russian Olympic swimmer Rylov defiantly says he can 'choose what to do' after his global ban for attending a pro-Putin rally

• Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov is defiant despite a lengthy ban for attending a pro-war rally.
• "I myself can choose what to do," Rylov said in a Russian TV interview this week.

Evgeny Rylov, the Olympic champion Russian swimmer banned from competition for attending a pro-war rally, remains defiant over his actions, saying he can do what he likes in his own country.

Rylov, who won two golds at the Tokyo Olympics, was banned for nine months by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) last week for attending a rally in Moscow in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He has also been dropped by his main sponsor Speedo.

The swimmer, however, says he hasn't done anything wrong and doesn't care if people don't like him.

"I was invited to a concert dedicated to Crimea, and people didn't like it," he said in an interview on Russian TV Tuesday, referencing the FINA ban and being dropped by Speedo.

"I think this is wrong. On the territory of my country, I myself can choose what to do," Rylov continued, per reports on the interview by Russian outlets Championat and RT.

He then joked: "I shouldn't be liked by everyone — only my girlfriend, mother and mother-in-law."

Ever since appearing at the rally, Rylov has insisted he has done nothing wrong, and earlier claimed that he only got attention because he is, in his words, the "world face of swimming."

"If it wasn't for me who went on stage at Luzhniki, but for someone else from the swimmers, they might not even pay attention. At the Olympics, I attracted increased attention, and now it is riveted to me in all aspects of life," Rylov said in a March interview with the Russian newspaper Sport-Express.

Rylov's latest comments came on the same day that President Vladimir Putin criticized his ban, calling it absurd during an event for decorated Olympians at the Kremlin.

"We called for the cleansing of sports from politics, which turns sport into [a form of] manipulation. We are being met with cases that are brought to the point of absurdity," Putin said, per RT, before specifically mentioning Rylov's case.

While Rylov — who won the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at Tokyo — has been banned for nine months, he effectively only has a 20-day ban, because all Russian and Belarusian swimmers are already banned by FINA from international events until the beginning of 2023.