Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova wins second gold at European Championship

Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova has claimed her second gold medal at the European Gymnastics Championship in Zagreb, winning the vault. The Olympic champion earlier took gold in the individual all-around, as well as bronze on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.

Earlier this week, Russian gymnasts dominated the women’s all-around at the tournament, claiming gold and silver. Melnikova took first place ahead of teammate Anna Kalmykova, while another Russian, Liudmila Roschina, narrowly missed the podium, finishing behind France’s Elena Colas in her first senior season.

At the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Melnikova won gold in the women’s team event and bronze in the individual all-around and floor exercise.

The participation of the Russian team was marred by hostile actions from the host country, which initially refused to provide visas to nine members of the Russian delegation, including both of the medal winners, a coach, and the team’s physician. Russian diplomats managed to secure visas for four of the affected athletes, while others remained barred from entering Croatia.

In addition to the visa troubles, the host country also refused to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag.

European Gymnastics reinstated Russian athletes to competitions earlier this year, enabling them to perform under the national flag, following a ruling from World Gymnastics.

However, for the events for which hosting rights were awarded before July 28 this year, Russian teams can be barred from displaying the country’s flag and other symbols at the host’s decision.