Lithuanian police launch racism investigation after Black powerlifter incident

By Andrius Sytas and Charlotte Van Campenhout

VILNIUS/AMSTERDAM, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Lithuanian police started an investigation on Monday after an assistant at the Powerlifting Championships said he sabotaged a Black athlete’s squat attempt due to racism – a statement he later said was written to mock those accusing him of racism.

Assistant Ernestas Kusinas, one of the safety crew watching over the athletes as they competed, placed his knee under Belgian champion Sonita Muluh’s barbell, resulting in a failed attempt to squat 334.5 kg, said the president of the Lithuanian Powerlifting Federation which hosted the event in June.

The Lithuanian federation referred the case to police after Kusinas commented on Instagram: “I am racist, and I did it intentionally.”

A police spokesperson told Reuters the investigation will focus on the Instagram message and events at the championship, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Kusinas told Reuters his Instagram comment was written out of anger, in response to racism accusations, and was intended not as a statement but as a mockery of the accusations.

“I threw him the bone he wanted,” added Kusinas, referring to an unidentified social media user who he said had accused him of racism.

Kusinas said he unintentionally interfered with Muluh’s and other athletes’ attempts because he was tired after his duties at the event.

Muluh, 29, a Cameroon-born Belgian athlete, has won medals at several Powerlifting Championships and became world champion in 2024.

MISSED BY JUDGES

The Lithuanian federation barred Kusinas from all events, while the International Powerlifting Federation condemned racism and hateful conduct in a statement.

The incident was missed by judges, but was noticed in video recordings after the event, the Lithuanian federation’s president, Domantas Barauskas, said.

Barauskas said videos show Kusinas, a longtime spotter, interfering with other athletes’ squat attempts, including a white Swedish powerlifter’s.

Muluh’s partner Kristof De Coninck said she could have won if her final squat attempt had not been tampered with, and that poor assistance risked “very serious injuries.”

“Initially, we thought it was a mistake,” said De Coninck.

“But then … it became clear (because of the social media comment) that the person had done it deliberately, motivated by racial bias.” He added that Kusinas had not contacted them after the event.

De Coninck said Muluh welcomed the Lithuanian police investigation, and was putting together an internal complaint with the IPF.

(Writing by Andrius Sytas, Reporting by Andrius Sytas, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Ken Ferris)