A volunteer spotter at last month’s powerlifting world championships admitted he deliberately sabotaged a black athlete’s world-record squat attempt because he is “a racist,” an admission that has since triggered a criminal investigation by Lithuanian police.
Ernestas Kusinas, one of five safety spotters assigned to Belgian lifter Sonita Muluh, placed his knee under her barbell during a 334.5kg squat attempt at the IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships in Druskininkai, Lithuania. Reuters reported that police opened the probe Monday after Kusinas commented on an Instagram post about the failed lift.
“I am racist, and I did it intentionally,” Kusinas wrote.
Spotters are only permitted to touch the weights if a lifter cannot complete the attempt on her own. Muluh, a Cameroon-born Belgian who won the world title in 2024, was disqualified over a separate technical infringement and denied a re-attempt. She initially believed the contact was an accident and defended Kusinas online. American powerlifter Joe Sullivan surfaced footage of the lift in mid-July, drawing wider attention.
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“It’s shocking to wake up five weeks later and it’s all over the internet that he did it on purpose because of the colour of my skin,” Muluh told BBC Sport.
Kusinas ended his Instagram comment with the number 88, a coded reference to a Nazi slogan, and referred to Muluh with a slur. Photos allegedly showing him wearing a Nazi eagle badge later circulated online before being removed. Lithuanian Powerlifting Federation president Domantas Barauskas said the comments caught organizers off guard.
“He has volunteered as a spotter at our championships for several years, and it never crossed anyone’s mind that something like this could happen or that he held such views,” Barauskas said.
Muluh said the incident stripped her confidence in the safety of the sport and accused the International Powerlifting Federation of negligence.
“I feel unsafe and uneasy that this person is standing beside me with massive weight, with what can go wrong,” she said.
The federation imposed a lifetime ban and referred the matter to police, who said the offense carries a maximum two-year prison sentence. Kusinas claimed his comment was written out of anger and meant as mockery, telling Reuters he “threw him the bone he wanted.” He also insisted any interference was accidental and blamed fatigue.
Kusinas has since made his social media accounts private.
The incident drew reaction across social media, where some users defended Kusinas and questioned the account of events.