Three top Russian gymnasts were denied entry to the Netherlands for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, according to the Russian Gymnastics Federation. The competition is set to run from October 17 through 25 in Rotterdam and is a key qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The defending world all-around champion, Angelina Melnikova, was one of the three athletes denied visas by the Dutch government, along with Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova.
Melnikova is a four-time Olympic and 10-time world medalist. She and Listunova were both part of the team that won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after Simone Biles withdrew from the competition due to a struggle with the “twisties.” Kalmykova won the all-around silver medal at the 2026 European Championships in Croatia, flanking only Melnikova.
In a statement posted to its website, the Russian Gymnastics Federation condemned the decision and accused the Dutch authorities of intentional discrimination.
“The Russian Gymnastics Federation views the actions of the Dutch authorities as a deliberate attempt to eliminate the country’s top gymnasts from contention for World Championship medals and Olympic qualification spots,” the federation said. “This constitutes direct discrimination against Russian athletes and a gross violation of the principle of equal conditions for Olympic qualification.”
Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, Vladimir Tarabrin, said that he visited the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and urged the authorities to honor their obligations as the host country of an international sport event and “ensure that all Russian gymnasts receive the necessary documents to participate.”
Russian officials announced their intention to appeal the decision.
In a statement to NBC, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they cannot comment on specific cases as they “do not have the full information about why some visas were denied.”
“IOC supported World Gymnastics in its efforts to ensure that all athletes could participate in this event,” IOC added. “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.”
World Gymnastics released a statement Wednesday, stating that visa approval is determined by the Dutch authorities alone.
“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,” World Gymnastics said.
Last year’s world championships marked the return of some Russian and Belarusian gymnasts to international competition after an extended ban in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Melnikova won the individual all-around world title for the first time at the 2021 championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. That competition would be her last on the international stage for nearly four years. Russian athletes were banned from competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In 2025, she returned to international competition at the FIG World Challenge Cup, held by the host city of the 2024 Olympics.
She won all-around gold at the world championships in Jakarta later that year. While certain Russian athletes were able to compete there, Indonesia blocked Israeli athletes from participating due to the war in Gaza.
Melnikova was approved to compete in 2025 as an Individual Neutral Athlete, a designation that requires athletes to have no affiliation with the Russian or Belarusian military. Her approval drew criticism from Ukrainian media at the time, who argued that Melnikova’s public support for the Russian military cause should have been disqualifying.
Earlier this year, the IOC provisionally lifted the suspension of Russian athletes, clearing the way for a potential return to international competition and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
After Melnikova won her second world title last fall, Rotterdam would have offered the Russian veteran the chance to defend her gold and join an elusive club of three-time champions. Only Biles and Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina have won three or more individual all-around world titles.
Six teams will qualify for the 2028 Olympics at the world championships in Rotterdam, including three women’s teams and three men’s teams. The gold, silver and bronze-winning teams secure Olympic spots for their countries in Los Angeles.
Each qualifying team earns five athlete quota spots, meaning that 20 Olympic athlete spots will be up for grabs throughout the Rotterdam championships.
Four other Russian gymnasts on the team were permitted to enter the Netherlands, so Russia should be able to field a complete team in this weekend’s world championships, even if their superstars remain barred from entering the country.
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