Olympic gold medallist Viktoria Listunova will not participate in the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships this week after her Croatian visa application was denied. Initially, nine members of the 65-strong Russian team and staff were refused visas, though these were subsequently granted to all other squad members.
The Russian Gymnastics Federation reported the official reason for the denial as: “There is no justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay.” Listunova's teammates, including reigning world all-around champion Angelina Melnikova, were among those initially denied visas.
Listunova, who was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and won the European all-around title in 2021, has not competed internationally for over four years due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes imposed in 2022. Her application for neutral status was rejected last year. She participated in a political rally in Moscow in March 2022, where she was seen wearing the pro-war Z symbol.
The Russian federation criticised the decision, calling it a “de facto deprivation of the leading Russian athletes of the opportunity to perform at the qualifying tournament” and stating it “creates a dangerous precedent.” They added that it “calls into question the equal conditions for participation in qualifying competitions for athletes of all national federations.”
The European Championships serve as a continental qualifier for the World Championships later this year, where the first national quota spots for the LA Olympics in 2028 will be awarded. World Gymnastics lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing internationally in May, with athletes competing as neutral individuals without national symbols.