Nine members of Russia’s gymnastics delegation have been denied Croatian visas ahead of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, including Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Viktoria Listunova.
The competition begins Thursday at Arena Zagreb and will continue through Aug. 23. More than 600 athletes are expected to participate.
However, the nine Russian delegation members will not be able to enter Croatia after authorities declined to issue their visas.
Olympic Champions Among Those Denied Visas
The most prominent athlete affected is 26-year-old Angelina Melnikova. She has won three world championship titles and earned an Olympic gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
According to information released by the Russian Gymnastics Federation, Olympic champion Viktoria Listunova was also denied a visa.
Other members of the delegation who did not receive visas include Anya Kalmykova, Leyla Vasilyeva, Alexey Usachev, Sergei Naidin and Yevgeny Kisel.
Coach Yuli Kuksenkov and team doctor Sergei Gulevsky were also prevented from traveling to Croatia.
Of the 65 registered members of the Russian delegation, nine did not receive visas.
Russian Federation Criticizes Croatia’s Decision
The Russian Gymnastics Federation said it had not received an official decision explaining why the visas were denied.
In a statement, the federation accused Croatian authorities of selectively issuing visas and described the decision as the effective removal of one of the competition’s main rivals.
“Two days before the planned departure for the European Championships in Zagreb, the leaders of the Russian women’s team, as well as several athletes and specialists from the men’s team, were denied visas to enter Croatia,” the federation said.
The organization added that reserve athletes and other members of the Russian team had already received visas, while leading members of the women’s team remained unable to travel.
Federation Warns of Impact on Competition
The federation argued that administrative decisions could influence both the list of participants and the qualification process for the World Championships.
It also claimed that the situation could create a precedent affecting equal competitive conditions for athletes from different national federations.
Russian outlet RIA linked Croatia’s decision to earlier restrictions involving Russian athletes. According to the report, the decision caused dissatisfaction in Russia, particularly after recent recommendations from the International Olympic Committee had raised expectations of improved relations with international sports organizations.
Russian gymnasts had previously been permitted to compete under specific conditions.
Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs had not commented on the visa decision at the time of publication.
