Participation became impossible due to prolonged administrative procedures connected with obtaining neutral status, followed by refusal of registration by European Gymnastics.
Obtaining Neutral Status from World Gymnastics
The Russian Gymnastics Federation submitted all required documents to World Gymnastics in a timely manner for the athletes to receive neutral status:
March 25, 2026 — Anna Gryaznova, Vladislava Gaivoronskaya, Elizaveta Malashenko, Alexandra Ponomareva
March 26, 2026 — Kira Pryn
April 1, 2026 — Miroslava Monina
April 3, 2026 — Alisa Kirpicheva, Elvira Belyaeva
On April 3, the Russian Gymnastics Federation officially asked World Gymnastics to expedite both the neutral status process and inclusion of the athletes in the anti-doping testing pool.
On the same day, World Gymnastics informed the federation that its office was closed until April 7 due to Easter holidays.
On April 13, the Russian Gymnastics Federation resubmitted a request to expedite the process of obtaining neutral status and including athletes in the testing pool.
On April 14, decisions on granting neutral status were received only for some athletes:
Alexandra Ponomareva
Elizaveta Malashenko
Anna Gryaznova
Vladislava Gaivoronskaya
On April 15, the Russian Gymnastics Federation submitted an additional request regarding the remaining athletes.
On April 20, the Russian Gymnastics Federation again requested expediting the process.
On April 21, an official request to expedite the process was sent to World Gymnastics President Morinari Watanabe.
On April 22, World Gymnastics submitted decisions granting neutral status to:
Alisa Kirpicheva
Elvira Belyaeva
Kira Pryn
Miroslava Monina
On the same day, the Russian Gymnastics Federation again requested expedited inclusion of the athletes into the testing pool.
World Gymnastics replied that it was “doing everything possible” to resolve the matter.
On April 23, the athletes were finally added to the testing pool.
Until these administrative procedures were completed, participation remained effectively impossible.
Registration for the European Cup Under European Gymnastics
While waiting for World Gymnastics decisions, the registration deadline for the European Cup passed.
April 11, 2026 — The competition draw was conducted.
April 21 — European Gymnastics officially stated that adding the Russian junior group after the draw was impossible.
April 22 — European Gymnastics further stated that its Executive Committee had decided not to accept entries after the draw.
At the same time, European Gymnastics noted that in such situations athletes may be entered into the registration system in advance with "pending" status.
The Russian Gymnastics Federation learned about this possibility only after the draw had already taken place.
IOC Position
On December 11, 2025, the International Olympic Committee stated:
“The Summit supported the IOC EB’s recommendation that youth athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport should no longer be restricted in their access to international youth competitions, in both individual and team sports.”
The IOC also recommended that international sports federations apply the same approach in their own junior competitions:
“The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all governing bodies and international sports event organizers for their own youth events.”
The IOC further stated:
“Athletes have a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organisations.”
Conclusion
The Russian junior athletes fulfilled all formal requirements for participation in international competition. The Russian Gymnastics Federation submitted all necessary documents on time and repeatedly requested expedited processing.
Neutral status for some athletes was granted only after key European Cup registration procedures had ended.
The federation learned about the possibility of provisional "pending" registration only after the draw had taken place.
As a result, a junior team that had trained for months for an international event lost the opportunity to compete not for sporting, disciplinary, or medical reasons, but because of unsynchronized administrative procedures between international organizations.
This situation demonstrates that even after public IOC statements supporting expanded access for young athletes, the administrative mechanisms of World Gymnastics and European Gymnastics continue to create barriers to participation.
The case also highlights an ongoing gap between the IOC’s public position and the practical actions of certain international sports federations.
Beyond the European Cup issue, other restrictions on Russian juniors remain in international gymnastics.
The question of expanding access for Russian junior athletes, including possible participation under national symbols, had originally been scheduled for World Gymnastics review in early March 2026.
It was later postponed until May 2026.
Thus, even amid the IOC’s public stance on expanding youth participation, World Gymnastics continues to delay practical decisions affecting athletes’ ability to compete internationally.