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Is Sports Politics Threatening to Destroy Sport?

  Is Sports Politics Threatening to Destroy Sport? 4 November 2026 It isn’t just gymnastics that is being affected by visa refusals, political boycotts and disputes over Russia’s return to international competition. Ice hockey is now facing a crisis that threatens the organisation of some of its most important championships. On 30 October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favour of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, overturning the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) continued exclusion of Russian national teams. CAS found that the IIHF had not provided sufficient evidence to justify the exclusion on security grounds. The IIHF has expressed disappointment with the ruling but has confirmed that it will comply. However, the decision has triggered a wave of opposition from national federations, governments and commercial sponsors. Six European countries — Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and the Czech Republic — have announced that they will refu...
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Belyavski on Rotterdam, the Russian men, and lots more …

  "The greater the challenges, the better Russian gymnasts perform." An interview with Belyavsky Tatyana Postnikova, Championat October 28, 2026, 14:00 Moscow Time An Olympic champion reflects on the 2026 World Championships, discusses his athletic plans, and talks about his participation in the Gymnastics Premier League. The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships have concluded in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. For the first time since 2009, the Russian national team has returned from the tournament without any gold medals. However, the Russians did secure four medals—two silver and two bronze—and, crucially, earned an Olympic quota spot! Given the visa issues our athletes encountered, this is a respectable result. Immediately following the 2026 World Championships, we spoke with a star of the recent Russian national team—Olympic and World champion David Belyavsky. In an interview with *Championat*, he reviewed the tournament, shared his thoughts on competing in the Gymnastics...

Mustafina on Roschina

ROTTERDAM (Netherlands), October 24. /TASS/. Russian gymnast Lyudmila Roshchina, who won silver in the individual all-around at the World Championships, succeeded precisely because she focused on challenging herself rather than competing for medals. This is the assessment of Aliya Mustafina, a coach for the Russian national team and a two-time Olympic champion, who spoke to TASS. "Of course, I wasn't certain that Lyudmila would end up on the podium in the all-around, though I certainly hoped she would," Mustafina said. "The general instruction was not to think about medals or rankings. As they headed from the warm-up area to the competition floor, I told the girls: 'Don't worry about where you place—just focus on challenging yourselves.' And Lyusya managed to do exactly that." "Her mindset played a major role, too; she was in a very positive frame of mind even back in the warm-up area. So, I wouldn't say that winning this silver was an incre...

Roschina on her success in Rotterdam

  — Let’s sum up the World Championships. How did it go for you? — First of all, it was a great learning experience for me. Overall, the competition went well, though there is still room for improvement. — If someone had told you before the World Championships that you would take second place in the individual all-around, how would you have reacted? — I probably would have been surprised. I’m not even sure what else to say to that. — How difficult was it to be the leader of the women’s team in the absence of Angelina Melnikova? — I tried to encourage the girls, and they encouraged me as well. I think that, overall, we were a good team. But Angelina is still our leader, and I will look up to her. — I spoke with coach Aliya Mustafina, and she mentioned that the competition within the national team will be even tougher next year…  — It’s great to have such strong competition; it gives you something to strive for and an incentive to keep working. — Did you start out in artistic gy...

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