NETHERLANDS DENIES VISAS TO THREE RUSSIAN GYMNASTS FOR WORLDS

The Netherlands has refused visas to three Russian gymnasts ahead of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, due to run from 17-25 October, according to the Russian Gymnastics Federation (RGF). The athletes affected are reigning women's all-around world champion Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova, described by one report as the 2026 European all-around silver medallist. The RGF said the Dutch embassy in Moscow notified its visa centre of the refusal, leaving the three "deprived of the opportunity to compete" at the championships. The federation said it had been told the reason given was that "one or more states" in the Schengen Area considered the athletes a threat to international relations. It called the decision "discrimination" and accused Dutch authorities of deliberately trying to keep the "strongest gymnasts" out of the competition.

The RGF said it would appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Gymnastics, asking both bodies to assess the impact on equal conditions for Olympic qualification. The visa process has also affected other Russian delegation members competing under the designation WG2, with the RGF reporting that nine athletes had received visas while one, Muhammadzhon Yakubov, awaited a decision as of Tuesday. Melnikova was previously denied a visa for the European Championships in Croatia in August, a decision later reversed on appeal, after which she went on to win the all-around title there. The Rotterdam championships mark the second consecutive year in which visa refusals have affected the event, after Israeli gymnasts were denied entry to Indonesia for the 2025 championships over the country's involvement in the Gaza conflict.

The refusals come as the top three men's and women's teams at the Rotterdam championships are set to secure the first team quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Russia has been pushing for a wider return to international sport following restrictions imposed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the uncovering of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. In July, the IOC eased restrictions on Russian athletes, opening a path to Olympic qualifying events. However, World Tennis's member federations voted this week to keep Russia and Belarus suspended from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, a ban first imposed in March 2022.