Netherlands Denies Visas to Three Top Russian Gymnasts Ahead of World Championships

The Netherlands has denied visas to three of Russia's leading female artistic gymnasts who were due to compete at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam. The event, running from October 17 to 25, is the first team qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Russian Gymnastics Federation announced the refusals on Tuesday, citing the Dutch Embassy in Moscow.

Who is affected

The athletes are reigning world all-around champion Angelina Melnikova, Tokyo 2020 team Olympic champion Viktoria Listunova and 2026 European silver medalist Anna Kalmykova. According to the federation, the refusal notices state that one or several Schengen states consider the gymnasts a threat to their international relations.

Ukrainian sports authorities have previously drawn attention to the three athletes' ties to the Russian military and public support for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Melnikova represents the military-affiliated CSKA club and has posted social media photos featuring the pro-war "Z" symbol. Listunova took part in a March 2022 pro-war rally with President Vladimir Putin and was earlier denied neutral status by World Gymnastics. Kalmykova has a sports contract with the Russian National Guard, according to Ukrainian officials.

Russia's response

The Russian federation described the Dutch actions as a deliberate removal of the strongest gymnasts from the contest for world medals and Olympic quotas. Russia's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Vladimir Tarabrin, said he visited the Dutch Foreign Ministry in person and was given arguments he called utterly unconvincing. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said the Russian Olympic Committee will lobby to strip the Rotterdam event of its official Olympic qualifying status.

The Dutch foreign and sports ministries declined to comment on individual visa applications, but told local media the refusals were unrelated to athletic performance.

Background

Of 61 members of the Russian delegation, 47 received Dutch visas, including five male and three female gymnasts. World Gymnastics and European Gymnastics lifted restrictions on Russian and Belarusian gymnasts after the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its ban on the two countries' Olympic committees in July.