Gymnastics congress moved to let Russian officials attend

The International Gymnastics Federation said Wednesday its annual congress will be moved out of Norway so that officials from Russia and its ally Belarus can attend.

The FIG congress was due to be held in Norway in October but the FIG said it will be moved.

It said the Norwegian Gymnastics Federation withdrew as host because it “must comply with the recommendations from the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality to not welcome any officials or delegates from Russia or Belarus to events in the country.” FIG said it is looking for another host.

FIG suspended Russian and Belarusian gymnasts from competing in March, less than two weeks after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. But it has not suspended officials from the two countries. Belarusian official Nellie Kim is one of the three FIG vice-presidents and Russia's Vassily Titov is a board member, while both countries have officials on various influential committees.