Historic First: Neutral Athlete Claims Gold in Paris Olympic Gymnastics

Russia and Belarus have been prohibited from participating in team sports at the Paris Games due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

PARIS, France — Ivan Litvinovich of Belarus earned the first gold medal as a neutral athlete in Paris by successfully defending his Olympic title in the men’s trampoline event on Friday night.

Earlier in the day, fellow Belarusian Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya won the first medal of any kind for a neutral athlete in the women’s trampoline competition.

Litvinovich’s performance in the final was dominant. He scored 63.090, more than a point higher than China’s silver medalist Wang Zisai and bronze medalist Yan Langyu.

Both Bardzilouskaya and Litvinovich are among 17 Belarusians competing as neutral athletes. Due to the war in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are restricted from team events at the Paris Games.

NBC News reported that medals awarded to neutral athletes will not count towards their home nations’ totals.

Bardzilouskaya’s victory came as a surprise, while Litvinovich, a two-time world champion, has long been a top contender in trampoline, a sport that requires executing complex aerial maneuvers at significant heights.

The crowd in Bercy Arena showed strong support for Litvinovich during his qualifying rounds and the final.

Bardzilouskaya’s score of 56.060 was narrowly behind Britain’s gold medalist Bryony Page, who scored 56.480. Canadian Sophiane Methot secured the bronze with a score of 55.650.

During the awards ceremony, Bardzilouskaya bit her medal playfully for photographers and stood smiling as the green-and-white flag with “AIN” was raised instead of the Belarusian flag. She avoided questions about the war.

“I tried to focus on what I’m doing, and I tried to correct my mistakes; overall it was so-so,” Bardzilouskaya said regarding her performance.

Neutral athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports were eligible to compete if they qualified and received Olympic approval.

Bardzilouskaya did not compete internationally for two years following sanctions from the International Gymnastics Federation after Ukraine’s invasion in February 2022. She kept her skills sharp by participating in local competitions but found it challenging.

“(There was) a lot of uncertainty; it was hard to predict,” she said in Russian.

Cleared this year, Bardzilouskaya competed in World Cup events to accumulate enough points to qualify for the Games, eventually being approved as a member of the AIN team in June.

Although residing in the Olympic Village, Bardzilouskaya and other neutral athletes could not join the opening ceremony’s parade of athletes, a highlight she missed.

Her family, unable to get visas, watched from Belarus. Despite the smaller AIN team, Bardzilouskaya does not feel isolated in the Olympic Village and credited her coach for her success.

“He has put a lot into me, into my bounces, my technique,” she said. “It’s enough. I have all I need, so I’m not worried about that.”