Two Russian Olympic gymnastics champs to skip 2026 European Championships in visa denial

Two Russian Olympic gymnastics champs to skip 2026 European Championships in visa denial According to the Russian Gymnastics Federation, the recent developments put into question the equal conditions of participation in qualifying competitions for athletes of all national federationsMOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Russian Olympic gymnastics champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova will skip the 2026 European Championships due to Croatia's refusal to grant them entry visas, the Russian Gymnastics Federation (FGR) announced to TASS. Besides Melnikova and Listunova, Anna Kalmykova, Leila Vasilyeva, Alexey Usachev, Sergey Naidin, Yevgeny Kisel, as well as team’s Coach Yuly Kuksenkov and doctor Sergey Gulevsky have not yet received entry visas, the federation stated in a statement. "The reason behind the refusal is: 'Invalid purpose and conditions of the intended stay'. However, visa applications for the entire Russian delegation were submitted simultaneously and with the same set of supporting documents. The remaining 56 members of the delegation were granted visas," according to the statement. "The Russian Gymnastics Federation views the entry visa refusal as an effective tool to deprive leading Russian athletes of the chance to compete in the qualifying tournament," the statement reads. "This incident risks setting a dangerous precedent in which administrative decisions can directly affect the participants’ roster and ultimately the qualifying tournaments." According to the federation, the recent developments put into question the equal conditions of participation in qualifying competitions for athletes of all national federations. The Russian Gymnastics Federation has already notified World Gymnastics and European Gymnastics about the incident and asked them to resolve the situation. Melnikova, 25, and Listunova, 21, won gold medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the team tournament. Melnikova is also an Olympic silver and two-time bronze medalist in addition to winning three World Championships. Listunova has not competed internationally since Russia was barred to compete internationally in 2022. The 2026 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be held at Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, on August 13-23, 2026, and Russian athletes will be participating in the tournament with no national insignia. 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