Daniil Smirnov wins Russia's first-ever Youth Olympic gold in the men's all-around

First all-around gold

Russian gymnast Daniil Smirnov won the men's individual all-around final at the Youth Olympic Games, scoring 81.298 points. As reported by Gazeta.Ru, this is the first gold medal in men's all-around at Youth Olympics in the history of the Russian team. Second place went to Britain's Uzair Choudhuri (79.132 points), and third to Japan's Ikki Nishihara (79.065).

Seventh team gold and a new team status

Smirnov's medal became the seventh gold award for the Russian team at these Games. A crucial detail of the team's status: Russian athletes are competing at the Youth Olympics under the Russian flag and anthem. This contrasts with the recent Games, when Russians' participation was restricted: after the IOC recommendation of March 2022 to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, only 15 Russian athletes went to the 2024 Olympics in Paris in a neutral status, and they were barred from using the Russian flag and anthem; similar rules applied at the 2026 Winter Olympics as well. The situation changed on July 7, 2026, when the International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and recommended that federations remove restrictions on Russian athletes. Thus, Smirnov's gold is the first victory by a Russian gymnast in the all-around at the Youth Games in this cycle, achieved already under the team's changed status.