Four Russian artistic gymnasts have received visas to enter Croatia, enabling them to participate in the 2026 European Championships scheduled to take place in the capital, Zagreb.
According to what was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Embassy in Croatia, Angelina Melnikova, Anna Kalmykova, Leyla Vasilyeva and Alexei Usachev have received the necessary visas to participate in the tournament.
The embassy praised the efforts made by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the diplomatic mission in Croatia to resolve the visa crisis, and also thanked the leadership of the Croatian Gymnastics Federation for their intervention and contribution to settling the issue.
The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be held in Zagreb from August 13 to 23, and is one of the qualifying events for the World Championships scheduled to take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, next October.
Russian athletes will participate in the tournament as neutrals, given the continued restrictions on their international participation.
The visa crisis had raised concerns about the participation of the Russian national team, after several of its players, along with the team's coach and doctor, were unable to obtain entry visas earlier.
