On March 25, World Aquatics released an updated list of athletes and support personnel from nations in conflict now granted neutral status.

For the first time, Russian artistic swimmers — including World Champion Mayya Doroshko and her duet partner Tatiana Gayday — are included, alongside 11 additional athletes from Belarus, signaling their potential return to the global stage.

The 13 artistic swimmers from Russia who were granted neutral status are Elizaveta Brener, Lika Chechura, Polina Chibisova, Mayya Doroshko, Kseniia Efimova, Anna-Mariia Fomicheva, Tatiana Gayday, Aleksandra Klenina, Svetlana Pavlova, Elena Shabanova, Alisa Shevchenko, Anastasia Sidorina and Veronika Sokolova.

 

All except Doroshko and Gayday are part of the junior national team. Besides the aforementioned duet, no other athletes from the current senior national team are on the list at this time.

These Russian athletes are all expected to travel to Egypt and compete in the Soma Bay World Cup in two weeks. Senior duet coach Tatiana Danchenko has already confirmed Doroshko and Gayday should at least showcase their technical duet routine there.

Coaches Daria Alexandrova, Tatiana Danchenko, Galina Galkina, Marina Golyadkina, Natalia Mendygalieva, Nino Nodia, Svetlana Romashina, and Elena Voronova were also granted neutral status. Romashina, seven-time Olympic gold medalist, will travel to Egypt as the coach of the junior soloist.

Moreover, 11 additional athletes from the senior national team of Belarus were granted neutral status: Anastasiya Bernat, Anastasiya Dabravolskaya, Volha Dzemidovich, Daria Fedaruk, Marharyta Kiryliuk, Varvara Kulba, Kseniya Kuliashova, Aliaksandra Mironchyk, Valeryia Shymanskaya, Yana Tratseuskaya  and Valeryia Valasach.

Vasilina Khandoshka, who’s been competing as a neutral athlete since the 2024 Doha World Championships, is joined again by Tokyo Olympics duet partner Daria Fedaruk (née Kulagina).

 

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, athletes from Russia and Belarus have faced significant restrictions in international artistic swimming competitions. World Aquatics initially banned athletes from both nations from competing in all events, aligning with broader sporting sanctions across the Olympic movement.

However, in 2023, World Aquatics followed the IOC’s guidelines and allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to return under a neutral status, though with strict eligibility conditions, including no ties to military or pro-war activities. A handful of Belarusian athletes and support personnel went through this process, like Vasilina Khandoshka for the 2024 season, but Russia had previously abstained from participating.

For the Paris Olympics, only individual neutral athletes were permitted, meaning no Russian or Belarusian artistic swimmers could compete anyways as the sport does not have individual events in the Games.

Finally in November 2024, World Aquatics’ ruling bureau updated competition rules to let athletes from Russia and Belarus, still under neutral status, now form swimming relays, synchronized diving pairs, and participate in artistic swimming duets and teams at World Aquatics events moving forward.

ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET

Photo: Synchronized Swimming Federation of Russia

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