Intro:

Pole vault great Yelena Isinbayeva condemned homosexuality Thursday (15th August), after criticising fellow competitors who painted their fingernails in rainbow colors to support gays and lesbians in the face of a new anti-gay law in Russia.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian Pole Vaulter (on Athletes showing supporting for gay rights and gay pride. Swedish athletes, Emma Green-Tregaro and Moa Hjelmer painted their nails the colour of the rainbow):

"It is disrespectful to our country, to our citizens, because we are Russians, maybe we are different to European people, than other people from different lands. We have our law which everyone has to respect."

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian Pole Vaulter (on why promotion of gay pride should not be allowed)

"We are really afraid. If we allow to promote, to do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation. Because, we consider ourselves like normal standard people, who live boys with women, women with boys, everything must be fine here. It comes from the history, we never had any problem, this problem in Russia, and we don't want to have it in the future."

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian Pole Vaulter

"Everyone can participate, everyone can compete. But of course if they will promote such a relation outside in the street, it won't be respectful in front of our citizens, because we are all, from inside of us, against it. But we are against public displays, but of course we are not against the choice of every single person, so it's their life, it's their choice, it's their feelings."