The medals we lost. Which Russians will compete for other countries in the 2024 Olympics? 63 Russians will compete on other teams in the Olympics 07.24.2024, 16:43

A total of 63 athletes of Russian origin, who changed their sports citizenship due to certain circumstances and represented other countries, will take part in the Paris Olympic Games. Of course, not everyone will be among the winners and medalists of the Olympics, but some have a very good chance.

Elena Rybakina – tennis, Kazakhstan

Born in Moscow, the 25-year-old tennis player achieved her first successes on the big courts under the Russian flag, reaching the semifinals of the junior Grand Slam tournaments and also winning two International Tennis Federation (ITF) doubles tournaments.

In 2018, Elena joined the Kazakhstan national team and continued to conquer the world’s peaks as a representative of this country.

The pinnacle of her career right now is winning Wimbledon 2022.

She reached the final of the Australian Open in 2023 and has also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros twice. Rybakina is currently ranked fourth in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

Alexander Bublik – tennis, Kazakhstan

Bublik came under the Kazakh flag two years before Rybakina. She played in Russia before moving to adult level in 2016. At the same time, as a young athlete, she regularly participated in Grand Slams and was among the 20 strongest tennis players in the world.

As part of the Kazakhstan national team, the native of Gatchina, Leningrad Region, also reached the second ten in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking: in May 2024 he broke his personal record, rising to 17th place. Currently, he is ranked 25th. Bublik has a Roland Garros final and four ATP titles in doubles.

Ismail Musukaev – freestyle wrestling, Hungary

Born in Nalchik, Musukaev played for Russia until 2019. By this time, he had become the winner and prize-winner of many major tournaments, including the Intercontinental Cup.

But he reached his greatest heights under the flag of another country – Hungary. As part of this team, Ismail’s career went up sharply: in 2019 he took third place at the World Championships, a year later he took second place at the World Cup in freestyle wrestling.

And 2022 and 2023 became the high point for the athlete: he won the European Championship and the World Championship, respectively.

Musukaev also qualified and performed at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, but was not among the winners there.

Daria Varfolomeev – rhythmic gymnastics, Germany

The athlete was born in Barnaul and began to do rhythmic gymnastics at the age of three, but when she was 12, the family moved to Germany. There she continued her sports career, training with the famous Belarusian gymnast Yulia Raskina.

At the adult level, Daria won bronze medals in the all-around and hoop exercises at the World Cup for the first time in 2022, and also won two silver medals in ball and ribbon. Later that year, the gymnast became a world champion for the first time – she won gold with clubs at the championship in Sofia. At this tournament, she also won silver medals in the team all-around and ball exercises, and bronze in hoop.

Varfolomeeva’s real triumph was the 2023 World Championships in Valencia, Spain. There she became the best in all individual exercises and personal all-around.

In the team competition as part of the German team, Daria came in second.

Alisa Ozhogina – synchronized swimming, Spain

Born in Moscow, Ozhogina grew up in Seville and competed for Spain throughout her athletic career. She represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics, but the Spanish team was not among the winners there.

But from 2022 onwards, awards from major international tournaments began to appear regularly in Ozhogina’s collection. So, she won a silver medal at the European Championships in Budapest, won two gold medals at the 2023 European Games and in the same year became a world champion by winning a tournament in Fukuoka, Japan. A year later, she added European Championship gold to her medal collection.

Vahid Abbasov – boxing, Serbia

Abbasov is an Azerbaijani, but was born in the village of Aleksandrovka, Samara region, and remained a Russian citizen until 2021. As a member of the Russian national team, the athlete achieved a number of significant results, in particular, winning the 2019 European Youth Championship. He received the title of Master of Sports of Russia of international class.

After changing his sports citizenship to Serbian, Vahid achieved new heights: he became the silver medalist of the European Games and the European champion, as well as the bronze medalist of the continental championship.

It is noteworthy that Abbasov also entered the professional ring in 2018 – and remains undefeated there: he had seven fights and won seven victories, three of which were knockouts.

Who else will perform at the 2024 Olympics?

Australia: Georgy Okorokov (wrestling), Lidia Yakovleva (rhythmic gymnastics);

Azerbaijan: Anna Bashta (fencing), Zelim Kotsoev (judo), Osman Nurmagomedov, Magomedkhan Magomedov (both wrestling);

Albania: Zelimkhan Abakarov, Islam Dudayev, Chermen Valiev (all wrestling);

Bahrain: Askerbiy Gerbekov (judo), Akhmed Tazhudinov (wrestling);

Bulgaria: Magomed Ramazanov (wrestling);

Greece: Dauren Kurugliev (wrestling);

Denmark: Turpal-Ali Bisultanov (wrestling);

Israel: Misha Zilberman (badminton), Mikhail Yakovlev (cycling);

Spain: Polina Berezina (rhythmic gymnastics);

Italy: Ekaterina Antropova (volleyball);

Kazakhistan: Alexander Shevchenko, Yulia Putintseva (all tennis), Yusup Batyrmurzaev (wrestling);

Cyprus: Elena Kulichenko (athletics), Vera Tugolukova (rhythmic gymnastics);

Kyrgyzstan: Sardana Trofimova (athletics), Ayaal Lazarev (wrestling);

Lebanon: Karamnob Sagaipov (judo);

Moldova: Sergey Margiev, Zalina Margieva (both athletics), Alisa Glinka (equestrianism);

UAE: Aram Grigoryan, Jafar Kostoev (both judo);

North Macedonia: Vladimir Egorov (wrestling);

Serbia: Nikolay Pimenov (rowing), Lev Korneev (taekwondo), Georgy Tibilov, Alexander Komarov (both wrestling);

Slovakia: Taimuraz Salkazanov (wrestling);

Slovenia: Ekaterina Vedeneeva (rhythmic gymnastics);

Tajikistan: Viktor Rassadin (wrestling);

Uzbekistan: Olga Zabelinskaya (cycling), Igor Myalin (diving), Ilya Sibirtsev (swimming), Anna Prakaten (rowing), Alice Fakhrutdinova (modern pentathlon), Dzhabrail Shapiev, Rustam Assakalov, Razambek Zhamalov (all-around wrestling);

Ukraine: Maxim Taloverov (football), Alena Krivitskaya (fencing), Alena Kostevich (shooting);

France: Anastasia Bayandina (synchronized swimming), Anastasia Kirpichnikova (swimming), Varvara Gracheva (tennis);

Croatia: Elena Oblova (sailing), Konstantin Kharkov (water polo).

Check: Sonya Artamonova (gymnastics), Arthur Omarov (wrestling).