World Gymnastics lifts restrictions on Russian, Belarusian athletes
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World Gymnastics has lifted all restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes, allowing them to compete immediately under their national flags for the first time since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The organization's Executive Committee said on May 18 that it had "decided to lift all restrictions applicable to Russian and Belarusian athletes since February 2022, with immediate effect," according to a statement published on its website.
World Gymnastics, formerly known as the International Gymnastics Federation, is the governing body for international competition across all gymnastics disciplines.
The move reverses restrictions imposed in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the federation barred athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competition and introduced broader measures targeting events and national symbols associated with the two countries.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were later allowed to return to competition as neutral participants beginning in late 2024, though they remained prohibited from competing under their national flags or anthems.
The latest decision restores full participation rights across all five disciplines governed by World Gymnastics, including artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics and trampolining.
Russia's war against Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the country's sports community, with hundreds of Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed and hundreds of sports facilities damaged or destroyed in Russian missile and drone attacks.
Recently, however, Russian and Belarusian athletes have gradually begun returning to international competition as major sporting bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, ease restrictions imposed after the invasion.
