Gymnast Pantelei Kolodiy from Ukraine joins the US national team

23-year-old Ukrainian gymnast Pantelei Kolodii has decided to change his sports citizenship and will represent the United States of America at international competitions. This step was officially approved by the Executive Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) during a meeting held on May 7-8, 2025.

According to FIG regulations, the change of citizenship will take effect one year after the decision is made, on May 8, 2026. This means that from that moment on, Kolodii will be able to represent the United States at all international tournaments.

Before this decision, Pantelei Kolodii successfully represented Ukraine at many international competitions, including the European, World, and Universiade championships, and participated in the World Challenge Cups.

In early 2025, it became known that Kolodii planned to participate in the selection for the US championship, representing Stanford University, where he had been training since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, participation in the qualifying competitions was impossible at that time since, according to the rules, only athletes with American citizenship could participate in them.

Plans and preparation for the competition

After receiving the right to compete for the USA, Pantelei Kolodiy plans to actively prepare for international competitions, including the World Championship and the Olympic Games. Training will take place at Stanford University, where all the conditions are suitable for training world-class athletes.