Russian women finish sixth in team all-around at gymnastics world championships
In short
Russia's women's artistic gymnastics team finished sixth in the team all-around at the world championships in Rotterdam with 159.394 points. China won gold with 165.764, ahead of the United States and Japan. Russia did not win a team licence for the 2028 Olympics but, according to RIA Novosti and Kommersant, can still qualify at later events.
Read the full story 1 min read
Russia's women's artistic gymnastics team finished sixth in the team all-around at the world championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, RIA Novosti and Kommersant reported. TASS also reported the sixth place and said China won. The Russian line-up was Lyudmila Roshchina (Людмила Рощина), Alena Glotova (Алена Глотова), Milana Kayumova (Милана Каюмова), Alexandra Anufrieva (Александра Ануфриева) and Elizaveta Us (Елизавета Ус). [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
The Russians scored 159.394 points. China won with 165.764, the United States was second with 165.531 and Japan third with 164.063, according to RIA Novosti and Kommersant. RIA Novosti noted that the Netherlands team did not reach the team final, placing 11th in qualification. [ 2 , 6 ]
Under the rules of the international gymnastics federation, as RIA Novosti put it, team Olympic licences go to the three best teams. RIA Novosti said Russia therefore did not win a licence for the 2028 Olympics at the championships, and Kommersant said the sixth place did not let the team secure one. Both outlets said the team still has a chance to qualify at other competitions. RIA Novosti described the championships, held from 17 to 25 October, as a qualifying tournament for the 2028 Olympics in the United States, with individual-event finals on 24 and 25 October. [ 2 , 6 ]
RIA Novosti also reported that Dutch authorities had earlier refused visas to the team's leaders, Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova (Ангелина Мельникова) and Viktoria Listunova (Виктория Листунова), and European champion Anna Kalmykova (Анна Калмыкова). Its headline said the Russian team competed without leaders. [ 2 ]
TASS ran headlines saying that the Russian team's coach explained the gymnasts' failure in the team all-around and that the gymnasts explained it by psychological problems. RIA Novosti ran a piece headlined on Us's account of her performance. The documents do not include the text of these reports. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The sixth place left Russia without a team Olympic licence from this championship, which RIA Novosti describes as a qualifier for the 2028 Games. RIA Novosti and Kommersant say the team still has later qualifying events.
Key facts
- Russia's women's gymnastics team took sixth place in the team all-around at the world championships in Rotterdam. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The Russian team scored 159.394 points. [ 2 , 6 ]
- China won with 165.764 points, the United States took second with 165.531 and Japan third with 164.063. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Team licences for the 2028 Olympics go to the three best teams, so Russia did not win one at this championships. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Dutch authorities earlier refused visas to Russian team leaders Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova, according to RIA Novosti. [ 2 ]
- The championships run in Rotterdam from 17 to 25 October. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Russia's women's team finished sixth in the team all-around with 159.394 points; China won with 165.764. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- Sixth place did not earn Russia a team licence for the 2028 Olympics, since the three best teams receive them. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Russia can still try to qualify for the Olympics through later competitions. [ 2 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- What the coach and the gymnasts said about the result. TASS headlines say the coach explained the result and the gymnasts attributed it to psychological problems, and RIA Novosti has a piece headlined on Elizaveta Us's performance, but no text of these reports is available.
- Whether the absence of Melnikova, Listunova and Kalmykova affected the result. RIA Novosti's headline says the team competed without leaders and its text reports the visa refusals, but the documents do not link them to the placing.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports that the Russian women finished sixth in the team all-around, with China winning. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti publishes the scores, the line-up and the licence situation. [ 2 ]
- TASS publishes a report headlined that the Russian team coach explained the failure. [ 3 ]
- TASS publishes a report headlined that the gymnasts explained the failure by psychological problems. [ 4 ]
- RIA Novosti publishes a report headlined on Us's performance in the team all-around. [ 5 ]
- Kommersant reports the result and says the team still has chances to qualify for the Olympics. [ 6 ]