The famous Ukrainian gymnast Ilya Kovtun will take annual quarantine to go to the flag of Croatia, the Croatian Federation reports. This means that he will have time to perform at all the main tournaments of 2026, including the European and World Championships.
21-year-old native of Cherkazi, one of the most successful Ukrainian gymnasts in recent years. In 2024, in addition to Olympic silver, he also won three gold medals at the European Championship in Rimin. Since 2022, he lived and studied in Osika under the leadership of Irina Gorbachev-Udin.
In January, it became known that Ilya and Irina submitted documents for Croatian citizenship. In April, the athlete confirmed this information, adding that the design process is still ongoing.
On July 10, 2025, the International Gymnastics Federation (RIS) officially confirmed its transition to Croatia.
According to the rules of Fig., The athlete has the right to represent a new country in 12 months. This means that Kovtun will be able to debut in Croatia on July 10, 2026 – shortly before the European Championship in Zagreb and the World Cup, where he is waiting for the struggle for medals.
Earlier, in an interview with OBOZ.UA Gorbacheva, he noted that Ukraine has not placed anything in preparing its coming to the OI-2014. Kovtun himself deleted a post on the support of Ukraine and its people from Instagram.
Only Verified information that we have in the Telegram OBOZ.UA channel and Viber. Do not run to fakes!
Source: Obozrevatel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
