… but RGF President Vitaly Titov says the Federation will not prevent them if they wish.
News story from RIA Novosti. Google translate below.
The Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation (FSGR) will not prevent Russian athletes from participating in international competitions in a neutral status, FSGR President Vasily Titov told RIA Novosti.
💬 “I have a normal attitude towards this situation. Every athlete must make a choice. I believe that politics has nothing to do with sports. This is everyone’s choice. We, I’m talking about our federation now, will not interfere with the personal choice of athletes,” Titov said .
Earlier, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) granted permission to compete in a neutral status for four Russian athletes. Permission from FIG was received by Yana Lebedeva, Angela Bladtseva, Kirill Kozlov and Danila Kasimov, all of whom compete in trampolining.
💬 “I’ll say right away that in artistic gymnastics there are no athletes who would apply to participate in competitions in a neutral status. We had admission, but as neutral athletes we refused to apply. We will not compete under such conditions,” Rodionenko said.
In July, FIG announced the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions in a neutral status from January 1, 2024. Eligibility criteria were released in November.
Source:
https://rsport.ria.ru/20240205/gimnasty-192543…
https://rsport.ria.ru/20240203/rodionenko-19251