A star Russian athlete will make her debut in Germany’s gymnastics Bundesliga on Saturday, despite being designated as a “champion of terror” by Ukraine.
2020 Olympic champion Angelina Melnikova, one of the world’s best gymnasts, has signed for TSV Tittmoning-Chemnitz for the last two rounds of the Bundesliga season.
However, the move is controversial, with the 25-year-old accused of siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin and backing his war in Ukraine, having also dabbled in politics with the ruling United Russia party.
Other Bundesliga clubs have queried the wisdom of bringing Melnikova in to help Chemnitz’s title push.
“There were only sporting reasons,” club coach Tatjana Bachmayer told DW. “We didn’t want to provoke anyone, and above all, we didn’t want to make a political statement. We are aware that this could be seen as problematic. But for us, what counts is solidarity in sport and international understanding.”
DW has also requested a comment from Melnikova via her new club but has yet to receive a response.
Germany has previously taken a hard line on Russian athletes being readmitted to competition, although that stance appears to be softening. Commenting on Melnikova’s Bundesliga participation, a German government spokesperson said: “There must be no instrumentalization of sport for Russian politics, and we are also very confident that this is not the case here.”
Posing with military symbol
Melnikova was cleared to compete internationally as a “neutral” athlete by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in March, after spending three years only being able to take part in competitions in Russia.
Ukraine, though, has questioned granting Melnikova neutral status and has urged the FIG to review its decision.
In an April letter to the presidents of both the FIG and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Ukrainian sports officials listed numerous examples of how they said Melnikova had violated neutrality rules that prohibit Russian athletes from showing support for the war.
These included Melnikova posting a photo on social media with the letter “Z,” a Russian military symbol; running training camps for children from military families; and raising money for the daughter of a Russian soldier who was killed in the war. Consequently, she is listed on Ukrainian military intelligence’s “champions of terror” database.
Earlier this year, Melnikova even ran as a candidate for Putin’s United Russia party in local election primaries. She won but withdrew her candidacy soon after, saying it was “difficult to combine politics with sport.”
In a sporting sense, that move paid off: Melnikova claimed her second all-around world title at October’s world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, earning praise from Putin himself. “Your triumphant performance in the individual all-around is a wonderful gift to your fans, coaches and mentors,” he wrote in a congratulatory message afterwards.
Melnikova won gold at the 2025 World Championships in IndonesiaImage: Filippo Tomasi/IPA Sport/ipa-agency/picture alliance
Coup for Chemnitz
After returning to the international stage with two gold medals and a silver in Jakarta, Melnikova’s signing can be seen as a coup for Chemnitz. The club is looking to end the 13-year title-winning streak of its Bundesliga rival, MTV Stuttgart.
Defending the move, the Deutsche Turnliga (DTL), told the Ukrainian website Glavcom on Wednesday, that it was simply following the FIG’s eligibility criteria, which, it said, it trusted.
“We primarily see ourselves as organizers of sporting events and as bridge builders whose task is to provide all athletes with a platform to practice their sport in peaceful competition,” Michael Götz, the DTL’s president, said. “We neither have the capacity nor the mandate to investigate or evaluate the political actions of individual athletes.”
However, it appears the DTL has reversed its position given that an article published on its website on October 24 said Melnikova’s “admission contradicts the world federation’s own neutrality criteria, which exclude any military connection.”
DW asked the FIG to explain why it had given Melnikova neutral status but did not receive a response. The German Gymnastics Federation declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the DTL.
Felix Schwadorf and Tina Gerhäusser contributed reporting to this article.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding
