European Gymnastics postponed the decision on the full return of athletes from Russia and Belarus
The European Gymnastics Federation, an organization operating under the name European Gymnastics, has postponed the final confirmation of the decision on the full return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to European gymnastics competitions. According to the federation's official announcement of 30 June 2026, the virtual extraordinary General Assembly met on 29 June, but decided to postpone the third virtual extraordinary session at which alignment with the new decision of World Gymnastics was supposed to be confirmed. The new session should be held as soon as possible, and no later than 3 August 2026. This left the question of the return of Russian and Belarusian representatives to the European system open, although the Executive Committee of European Gymnastics had previously already announced that it would follow the decision of the International Gymnastics Federation, known as FIG or World Gymnastics.
The Assembly requested additional time
According to the announcement by European Gymnastics, the reason for the postponement is the assessment that the members need more time to consider the situation in Europe after the decision of World Gymnastics of 18 May 2026. By that decision, FIG lifted all restrictions that applied to Russian and Belarusian athletes and annulled the previous ad hoc rules. In practice, this means that the European gymnastics community is not declaring itself only on the technical question of the participation of individual athletes, but also on broader institutional alignment with the rules of the world federation.
The postponement is important because the decision does not concern one competition, but the entire framework of participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in European competitions across several gymnastics disciplines. European Gymnastics brings together national federations that jointly decide on European championships, competition rules, the work of technical bodies and the status of participants. Any change to the rules on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes can therefore affect organizers, judges, national federations, delegations and athletes from other countries. According to the available information, the postponement does not mean a final rejection of the return, but a delay of ratification until the members assess the political, legal and sporting consequences.
What World Gymnastics decided
World Gymnastics published in May 2026 a summary of the decisions of the Executive Committee from the meeting held on 16 and 17 May in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. According to the official list of FIG decisions, the Executive Committee decided to lift the restrictions that had been in force for Russian and Belarusian athletes since the beginning of 2022. European Gymnastics stated in its announcement that this decision removes the ad hoc rules with immediate effect. FIG thereby made a significant shift away from the earlier model, under which athletes with Russian and Belarusian sporting nationality could compete only under special conditions.
That earlier model had been established after the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee from 2023. Under the IOC framework, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports could return to international competitions only as individual neutral athletes, without national symbols, without teams and on the condition that they did not support the war in Ukraine. FIG then adopted its own ad hoc rules for gymnastics, according to which athletes and support personnel from Russia and Belarus could appear at FIG competitions from 1 January 2024 exclusively in neutral individual status. The lifting of those rules in May 2026 therefore opened the question of whether continental federations should automatically accept the new regime or conduct additional political and sporting consultations.
The European path was different from the world one
European Gymnastics did not from the beginning follow all FIG decisions at the same pace. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian support for Russia, the European federation introduced measures in March 2022 under which athletes, officials and judges from the Russian Gymnastics Federation and the Belarusian Gymnastics Association could not participate in European Gymnastics events. According to the federation's announcement at the time, people from Russian and Belarusian gymnastics structures also could not perform functions in the bodies of European Gymnastics until further notice. That decision was part of a broader sporting response after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
When FIG on 19 July 2023 opened the path for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutral individuals from 2024, European Gymnastics put the question before its General Assembly. At the congress in Sofia in December 2023, the European members decided that athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus still could not be returned to European competitions. In the official announcement, it was explicitly stated at the time that European Gymnastics was not following the FIG decision from July 2023. That difference between the world and European levels created legal and competitive complexity, because the rules for FIG competitions and the rules for European competitions in the same sport remained different.
The Prague shift and the open question of functions
The change in the European position occurred at the 31st Congress of European Gymnastics in Prague at the end of November 2025. According to the official announcement from the congress, all 50 members discussed a series of proposals, and the General Assembly accepted the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions from 1 January 2026, following the then valid FIG rules. That decision meant that the European system was moving closer to the world model of neutral individual participation, but it did not resolve all questions. The same Assembly did not allow the return of officials from those countries to their functions.
In practice, a difference remained between the right of athletes to compete and the right of representatives of the Russian and Belarusian federations to perform elected functions in European bodies. European Gymnastics stated in the Prague announcement that elected officials from Russia and Belarus cannot take up functions until further notice. This is particularly important for understanding the current postponement, because the FIG decision of May 2026 does not speak only about the neutral participation of athletes according to the earlier model, but about the lifting of all special restrictions. If the European federation were to follow FIG in full, the question of the scope of the return and the way in which the new rules are applied to athletes, support personnel, symbols, delegations and institutional functions would be opened.
A politically and sportingly sensitive decision
The decision is sensitive because it is taking place in the context of the war in Ukraine, but also because international sport does not have a unified response to the status of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The United Nations General Assembly in March 2022 adopted a resolution condemning the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces. The same resolution expressed concern about the role of Belarus in the use of force against Ukraine. Sporting organizations then introduced different bans, neutrality conditions or special checks, with rules differing by sports and levels of competition.
For athletes from other countries, the key question is credibility and equal competition conditions. For Russian and Belarusian athletes, the question is presented as the possibility of returning to international competition after several years of restrictions. For Ukrainian athletes and sporting institutions, the return of competitors under Russian and Belarusian markings remains a politically and morally sensitive issue because of the war, the destruction of sporting infrastructure and the security consequences of the conflict. That is precisely why the European members are seeking additional time: the decision can formally be presented as sporting-legal, but its consequences cannot be separated from the international context.
What a full return could change
If European Gymnastics confirms alignment with FIG without additional restrictions, Russian and Belarusian athletes could gain broader access to European gymnastics competitions than the one that applied during the period of neutral status. This could affect qualification pathways, the composition of competitions, the allocation of places, the delegation system, medal ceremonies and protocols around national symbols. At present, however, it has not been officially confirmed whether European Gymnastics will accept the full application of the FIG decision without its own additional conditions. Precisely for this reason, the deadline of 3 August 2026 is important for national federations planning appearances and calendars.
For organizers of European competitions, uncertainty means the need to prepare several scenarios. If the full return is confirmed, it will be necessary to align rulebooks, entries, accreditations and protocols. If the decision is further restricted or postponed again, European competitions could continue to function under a transitional or special regime. The question of competition security is also important, because events in Europe after 2022 have often required additional risk assessment, not only in the sporting but also in the diplomatic and public space.
Deadline by the beginning of August
According to the official announcement by European Gymnastics, a new decision should be made as soon as possible, but no later than 3 August 2026. That deadline gives the members a little more than a month for consultations, alignment of positions and assessment of the effect of the FIG decision from May 2026. During that period, the discussion is expected to take place between national federations, executive bodies and expert committees responsible for competitions. European Gymnastics has not yet announced that a new date for the session has been set, but only the final deadline by which the issue should be reconsidered.
Until then, the status remains transitional: the world federation has lifted its special restrictions, the European Executive Committee has announced that it will follow that decision, but the European General Assembly has not yet given final ratification. It is precisely this difference between the decision of the executive body and confirmation by the membership that explains why the process cannot be considered completed. For gymnastics in Europe, this is one of the most important institutional decisions in 2026, because it will determine not only who can compete, but also under what conditions European competitions enter a new phase of relations toward Russia and Belarus.
Sources:
- European Gymnastics – official announcement on the postponement of the 3rd virtual extraordinary General Assembly and the deadline of 3 August 2026 (link)
- European Gymnastics – official decision of the Executive Committee on following the decision of World Gymnastics on Russian and Belarusian athletes (link)
- World Gymnastics / FIG – official list of decisions of FIG bodies, including the Executive Committee decision from May 2026 (link)
- European Gymnastics – decisions of the 31st Congress in Prague on the return of athletes from 1 January 2026 and the status of officials (link)
- European Gymnastics – decisions of the General Assembly from December 2023 on not accepting the then FIG decision for European competitions (link)
- European Gymnastics – overview of measures and the European position on sanctions related to Russia and Belarus (link)
- World Gymnastics / FIG – ad hoc rules on the participation of individual neutral athletes and support personnel from Russia and Belarus (link)
- International Olympic Committee – questions and answers on the status of athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports in international competitions (link)
- United Nations – General Assembly resolution ES-11/1 on aggression against Ukraine (link)