World Gymnastics regrets 'confusion' after 3 top Russians refused visas for world championships

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — World Gymnastics says it regrets “confusion” ahead of the world championships starting on Saturday after three top Russians were denied visas to enter the Netherlands for the event.

Former Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova, along with teammate Anna Kalmykova, were not allowed to travel to Rotterdam for the week-long worlds that are a team qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Russian team has said.

Other members of the Russian team have been given visas.

“The issuance of visas to all participants is a process determined solely by the Dutch authorities," World Gymnastics said Wednesday. "World Gymnastics is not in a position to explain why a select number of application requests have been refused.

"World Gymnastics remains in ongoing dialogue with the Dutch authorities, the Local Organizing Committee, and the Russian Gymnastics Federation. World Gymnastics fully regrets the negative impact on the preparations of the Russian delegation and the confusion felt among the wider Artistic Gymnastics World Championships community.”

The cases illustrate how efforts in the sports world to lift many restrictions on Russian athletes and teams don't always mean host governments allow them to travel for events.

It also comes a year after the world championships went ahead in Indonesia without the Israeli team after authorities in the host country refused to issue visas.

Melnikova won the European all-around title in August in Croatia after being issued a visa following an initial refusal, the Russian team said at the time. Listunova was refused on that occasion.

Russia planned to demand the world championships be stripped of their Olympic qualifier status over the issue, sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov wrote on social media on Tuesday.

World Gymnastics did not mention that demand in its statement and did not respond to a question about it from The Associated Press. The International Olympic Committee also did not address that demand in a statement Wednesday and said it could not comment on the individual cases.

“Ahead of the upcoming Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the IOC supported World Gymnastics in its efforts to ensure that all athletes could participate in this event,” the IOC said.

“The vast majority of these athletes received their visas, and we have been informed by the International Federation that athletes will have other opportunities to qualify for the Olympic Games over the course of the next two years.”

Russian gymnasts were cleared in May of restrictions to competing internationally by World Gymnastics, after years of being banned or required to pass vetting for neutral status during the full military invasion of Ukraine.