The Russian Gymnastics Federation has revealed that Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova, along with another athlete, have been refused visas to travel to the Netherlands for the upcoming world championships set to commence in Rotterdam this Saturday. Melnikova, who was poised to defend her title in the women’s all-around event, would have participated in the weeklong competition, serving as a qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In response to the visa denials, Russian officials are planning to urge the International Olympic Committee and World Gymnastics to revoke the world championships’ status as a qualifier for the Los Angeles games, as stated by sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov on social media.
Both Melnikova and Listunova had clinched gold in the team event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where they narrowly beat a United States team that did not include Simone Biles, who had withdrawn from the competition. The Russian contingent was supposed to include 18-year-old Anna Kalmykova alongside Melnikova and Listunova, while four other Russian gymnasts were granted entry into the Netherlands, according to reports from Russian media.
In May, Russian gymnasts were given the green light by World Gymnastics to compete internationally, following a period of bans and vetting processes for neutral status during the military conflict in Ukraine. Despite this clearance, host countries still maintain the authority to refuse visas for political or security reasons. Notably, no Russian gymnasts participated in artistic gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics.