The inspiration for former Michigan gymnast Alan Gerdov was a photograph of his father, Gregory, taken nine years ago.
During a stroll through botanical gardens, a blueish butterfly had landed on his right hand, which he then gently raised just above the heart. The moment, captured on camera, could not be more symbolic for the Gerdov family.
That was in 2014 in the United States, around the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and eight years before Vladimir Putin would direct a Russian invasion of Ukraine early last year. The butterfly’s blue reminded Gregory of the blue in the flag of his native country, and he would have his oldest son, Michael, add yellow on one of the butterfly’s wing to truly make it reminiscent.