National anthem mess-ups are nothing new in sport, but rarely do they elicit such a passionate response as one Belarussian athlete.
In 2017, Belarus triple jumper Viyaleta Skvartsova took gold at the U20 European Track and Field Championships in Italy, but her big moment was completely tarnished.
The 19-year-old stood atop the podium in between her French and British rivals, but when the announcer told those present to stand and observe the Belarussian anthem, the wrong one was played out.
The anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina accompanied the raising of the flags, and while many likely weren’t aware of what either sounded like, Skvartsova certainly was.
She turned away pulling a face and appeared to be absolutely seething, then stepping down from the rostrum in surprise scenes.
Cameras caught the third-placed Brit Naomi Ogbeta standing in place awkwardly, while Skvartsova slowly walked away in shock scenes.
Looking around once the anthem ended, her two beaten rivals were absolutely baffled, and so was the commentator.
“Well there was a little bit of confusion regarding the disappearing Belarus winner,” he said.
“Not to worry, Naomi Ogbeta and Ilionis Guillaume are still very happy with their bronze and silver medals.”
No one seemed to have any clue what was going on in the venue in Grosseto, Italy, and it was only after when Skvartsova spoke to the media that everything became clear.
“I waited until our flag went up, and after I came down from the pedestal,” she said.
“I understand that the procedure violates the awards ceremony and may be followed by sanctions.
“But in that moment, I was very uncomfortable, that anthem is not my country for which I am speaking. After all, we spend so much effort to this moment.
“I am a patriot of his country. I was born in Belarus, which is very beautiful. My love for it cannot be expressed in words.”
It was reported that organisers apologised for the mistake and offered to re-do the ceremony.
The event saw another Belarussian gold for Maksim Nedasekau in the high jump, but she didn’t experience such an embarrassment.
For Skvartsova, it would be a stain on her career high so far, with the other other medal being a bronze at the European Under-23 championships in Sweden in 2019.
She would go on to compete in the Tokyo Olympic games in 2021, but only finished 18th, before her country took its turn to let her down.
Russian athletes were already banned from major events for widespread doping violations, but Belarus joined their neighbours in the cold in 2022 for their support in invading Ukraine.
Athletes from the two countries have been able to return under a neutral flag, but Skvartsova, now 27, hasn’t competed at a major international event since 2021.
