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European Gymnastics, the governing body of gymnastics in Europe, voted against allowing the Russian and Belarusian gymnasts to make their return to international competitions. This decision has put a question mark on how these gymnasts could qualify in Olympics next year after the International Gymnastics Federation allowed them to return as “individual neutral athletes” from January 1 onwards.
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The approval from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for the Russian and Belarusian gymnasts to participate in international competitions as individual neutral athletes without national symbols came in line with the recommendations made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Although, the European Gymnastics stated that its members voted no in regard to complying with the aforementioned plan on Friday, December 1.
The statement from European Gymnastics about the matter read, “The General Assembly of European Gymnastics has voted against allowing athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to return to official European Gymnastics competitions from 1 January 2024 onwards, thus not following the FIG decision.”
As per the report from the Associated Press, the FIG reportedly told them in an email statement that it has taken note of the decision by the European Gymnastics. “Although this may have an impact on Olympic qualification through continental championships, the FIG cannot provide any further details on this until all the relevant stakeholders have been consulted,” it said.
Russian and Belarusian gymnasts missed Olympics qualification events after FIG’s ban
The gymnasts from Russia and Belarus have missed a lot of Olympic qualification events after they were barred by the FIG from international competitions, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The European Championships, scheduled to take place next year, were the key for the Russian and Belarusian gymnasts to qualify for Olympics 2024, but with the recent decision from European Gymnastics has potentially put a stop to it.
