European Gymnastics Federation Rejects Return of Athletes from Russia, Belarus to Competition

Trampolining - FIG World Trampoline Championships - Utilita Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, Britain - November 10, 2023 Britain's Lewis Gosling in action during the men's double mini team final. (Reuters)
Trampolining - FIG World Trampoline Championships - Utilita Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, Britain - November 10, 2023 Britain's Lewis Gosling in action during the men's double mini team final. (Reuters)
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European Gymnastics Federation Rejects Return of Athletes from Russia, Belarus to Competition

Trampolining - FIG World Trampoline Championships - Utilita Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, Britain - November 10, 2023 Britain's Lewis Gosling in action during the men's double mini team final. (Reuters)
Trampolining - FIG World Trampoline Championships - Utilita Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, Britain - November 10, 2023 Britain's Lewis Gosling in action during the men's double mini team final. (Reuters)

The European Gymnastics Congress on Friday ignored a decision by the International Gymnastics Federation and voted against the return of athletes from Russia and Belarus to international tournaments from next year.

The decision was made on the opening day of the 30th congress of the European federation in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

“The General Assembly of European Gymnastics has voted against allowing athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to return to official European Gymnastics competitions from 1 January 2024 onwards, thus not following the FIG decision,” it said in a statement.

The governing body had imposed an outright ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus since March last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In July, the FIG executive committee decided to allow individual athletes from both countries to compete with neutral status from Jan. 1 if they meet certain criteria.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.