With the Netherlands hosting the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships for only the third time in history, all eyes were on Rotterdam. That’s especially true with the first quotas for the 2028 LA Olympics up for grabs. However, the Russian national gymnastics team faces a critical logistical crisis: the squad remains grounded and has yet to leave for the Netherlands as it awaits visas just days before the championships begin.

Former head coach and current team advisor Valentina Rodionenko has confirmed the news and is rather worried about the situation. That’s not surprising considering the fact that the World Championships kick off from October 17th, leaving them less than a week to get to Rotterdam.

“There’s complete silence regarding our visas. It’s a nightmare, of course. Tomorrow is the last working day at the embassy to get them before we leave for the World Cup. They’re simply testing our limits. We hope the issue will eventually be resolved,” Rodionenko said according to Novosti (via Sports-Express.net) (via Google Translate)

“The embassy isn’t saying anything—there’s silence. We’re worried, and very seriously,” she added, according to the English translation shared by Inside Gymnastics.

The original interview set the departure overnight between October 11 and 12. Rodionenko also said Angelina Melnikova, Anna Kalmykova and Viktoria Listunova had submitted their fingerprints that day. Still, she reported that nobody had received a visa, leaving the delegation waiting for an answer as its travel window narrowed.

By October 9, the situation remained unresolved. In a statement reported by Sport24, the Russian Gymnastics Federation said the athletes were still awaiting visas, with no indication of when they would be issued. That was via a detailed statement released by the Federation which also confirmed the timeline and the team’s travel schedule.

“The Dutch authorities are jeopardizing the Russian national team’s participation in the qualifiers for the 2028 Olympic Games,” reads the statement according to UA.News.

“Two days before their scheduled departure for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, the Russian national team has still not received visas from the Dutch authorities. The team risks missing the competition, where the first team quotas for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will be awarded.”

This isn’t the first time this has happened as Israel Gymnastics Federation were rejected visas in 2025 to compete at the World Championships in Indonesia. Their case eventually went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which rejected the appeal. Now, with the delegation still waiting for visas and their scheduled departure fast approaching, the uncertainty has left Russia’s gymnasts with little time to settle in and complete their final preparations ahead of the championships.

Rotterdam visa delay puts Russia’s final preparations under pressure

The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships run October 17–25 at Rotterdam Ahoy. But arriving before competition begins is only part of the equation. The federation said official training starts October 13, followed by men’s podium training on October 14. A delayed departure could eat into those preparations.

For gymnasts, those sessions offer time to get comfortable with the competition setup and settle into their routines. Losing that time would add another complication to an already demanding week. Even if the paperwork arrives before the opening day, the timing could still affect how smoothly the team prepares.

There is also some context behind the WG2 label mentioned in Inside Gymnastics’ post. World Gymnastics confirmed to Gymnastics Now that Russian athletes would compete in Rotterdam under the World Gymnastics 2 designation, without their national flag. Belarusian athletes would compete as World Gymnastics 1.

That competition arrangement, however, hasn’t resolved the travel issue. The Russian federation said it had notified World Gymnastics and was working with Russia’s Foreign Ministry and international federation president Morinari Watanabe to address the situation. It also said athletes submitted their complete documents between September 30 and October 5 after receiving visa-center invitations.