Evgeny Rylov<\/strong> has announced his retirement after a career which will be remembered more for his allegiance to Vladimir Putin<\/strong> than his Olympic titles.<\/p>\n The Russian was handed a nine-month ban<\/a> by World Aquatics \u2013 then FINA \u2013 in April 2022 after appearing on stage with Putin at a pro-war rally in Moscow a month earlier at which he wore the \u201cZ\u201d symbol of Russian nationalism.<\/p>\n That followed Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine which is still ongoing today although World Aquatics has now permitted Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at their events without restrictions.<\/p>\n They had been banned in 2022 from World Aquatics events before being permitted to return as individual neutral athletes in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n Rylov won gold in both the men\u2019s 100 and 200 backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics, representing the ROC. He also earned silver in the 800 free and was the bronze medalist in the Rio Olympics in the 200 back. He was the\u00a02021 Swimming World European Men\u2019s Swimmer of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n His last international appearance came at the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia.<\/p>\n The Russian Swimming Federation and Rylov announced the swimmer\u2019s formal retirement on social media, saying:<\/p>\n \u201cEvery great sports story eventually comes to an end.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Evgeny Rylov, these were years of hard training, self-improvement, ups and downs, culminating in triumphant victories and well-deserved awards.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for your dedication to the sport, your champion’s character, and the emotions you brought to millions of fans \ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n \u201c Good luck in this new stage of your life, Zhenya!\u201d<\/p>\n