Diana Lobok of Ukraine competes during the women’s balance beam qualifying round of the 17th FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Doha, Qatar, April 17, 2025. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
The Paris World Challenge Cup is a key competition in the final weeks before the World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October. Held September 12 through 14, the event hosts athletes from countless nations, with seven gymnasts from the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation originally slated to compete.
However, the competition will finish today without Ukrainians taking to the stage in Paris, due to the federation’s withdrawal of its nation’s athletes. Why? The Russian and Belarusian athletes’ inclusion at the event.
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation shared their justification for the decision in the following statement posted on Instagram.
Ukraine’s Warning Goes Unheeded
In August, the International Gymnastics Federation published its official registrant list for the event. The FIG confirmed the registration of five Russian or Belarusian gymnasts as authorized neutral athletes (AIN).
Their attendance in Paris marked their official return to international competition for the first time since 2021, following an FIG-instituted ban implemented in March 2022 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The ban was lifted on January 1, 2024. The FIG permitted their return, but only as “individual neutral athletes” (AIN) under strict conditions prohibiting national representation.
Their approval to compete this September generated significant uproar, with many alleging Angelina Melnikova’s participation, in particular, violates FIG rules. Melnikova, the 2021 World Champion and Olympic gold medalist, stood out as an egregious conclusion due to her political involvement.
The approvals contradict the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) neutrality conditions detailed in their ad-hoc guidelines.
When I spoke with Ukrainian Gymnastics officials in August, the federation’s response was clear: the FIG’s decision was an ‘exact’ example of “Sportwashing.”
According to Cambridge Dictionary, “Sportwashing is when sport — with all the positive feelings it inspires — is used to divert attention from social or environmental problems.”
At that time, Iryna Deriugina, President of the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation, told me that the UGF would await action from the FIG regarding the Russian and Belarusian inclusion at the Paris competition.
However, she told me that if the FIG does not address the UGF’s allegations of sportwashing, Ukrainian athletes may withdraw from the event in “passive protest.”
Due to the FIG’s inaction regarding the Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation at the event, the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation withdrew its athletes, as confirmed by the absence from the competitive start lists on Friday.
Moving Forward To World Championships
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation’s withdrawal decision could reach a major international scale in October. With the FIG’s approval of Russian and Belarusian authorized neutral athletes in Paris, their participation at the upcoming World Championships seems likely.
Given the UGF’s commitment to contesting “sportswashing,” Ukraine’s refusal to compete in the sport’s premier competition emerges as a definite possibility.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolineprice/2025/09/14/ukraine-gymnastics-withdraws-in-protest-from-paris-world-challenge-cup/
