Angelina Melnikova returns to international competition following Russian athlete ban

Russian athletes appear to be coming back on the elite gymnastics scene in preparation for this fall’s world championships, where they will be allowed to appear under a neutral flag. Supposedly, only athletes who have not been supportive of Russia in its war against Ukraine have been selected to compete, but whether these athletes simply haven’t supported the war publicly is a big question. 

The FIG calls these athletes Authorized Neutral Athletes (AIN), and you can see the full list of women’s artistic athletes and support staff who have received AIN status here. 

Of the Russian quartet that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics under the Russian Olympic Committee designation (as a consequence of a doping scandal that time), only Angelina Melnikova has acquired AIN status and will return to international competition this year, starting at the Paris World Cup this month.

Melnikova was the 2019 and 2021 world champion in the all-around and won the bronze medal in the all-around at the Tokyo Olympics. She was also, along with Morgan Hurd and China’s Chen Yile, part of the Olympic Channel documentary “All Around” in 2020; the documentary followed the three gymnasts on their path to Tokyo. As we now know, Melnikova was the only one of the three with a successful Olympic campaign following its postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the documentary, she offered viewers a look at a routine and a life in a country that is often opaque to outsiders.

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I’m interested to see how Melnikova looks; she has not stopped training or competing since Tokyo, and won the all-around at the 2025 Russian Cup, the country’s national championship. 

She trains at a military sports club in Russia, as do several other gymnasts with AIN status, which raises questions regarding how the FIG determined their politically neutrality. Melnikova also announced her candidacy for a state office as part of Vladimir Putin’s ruling party earlier this year, but ultimately withdrew. I’m not sure how that makes her politically neutral either, but per Lauren Hopkins of the gymternet, Melnikova has refrained from publicly endorsing Putin or the war, and perhaps that is what makes the difference in the eyes of the FIG.

Other gym news

Spencer Barnes at the Balance Beam Situation updated his amazing Clickable Code of Points with this guide to named skills on floor through time.

Speaking of floor skills, some of the of the most controversial — ring leaps and jumps — are coming under the Judge’s Inquiry microscope over at College Gym News. CGN also takes a look at which 10s were earned most quickly after a season began.

The Gymternet has the results from the Junior Pan Am Games.

Rebeca Andrade will forgo competing at worlds this year in favor of resting. We love resting.

Five at The IX: A look back at Angelina Melnikova

In 2021, Melnikova gave an interview to GymCastic following her all-around victory at the world championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. She answered English questions in Russian; a translation is provided in closed captioning.