Olympics-Gymnastics-With Russians out, more countries eye podium in men's team final

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber

PARIS (Reuters) - The absence of the Russian team in the men's Olympic gymnastics has left a void many countries would like to fill, but many gymnasts say their outlook on the competition has changed little in the absence of the reigning champions.

Russians and Belarusians teams are banned from taking part in the Games over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Only certain individuals have been authorised to compete after undergoing a screening process designed to root out anyone who has publicly supported the war or military. No Russian gymnasts are competing in Paris.

At the Tokyo Games, the Russian men's team clinched gold, edging Japan by a slim 0.103 points, while its gymnasts won medals in several individual events.

"We feel their absence because they are such a strong team," gymnast Illia Kovtun, who helped Ukraine qualify for the men's team final, told Reuters. "It gives other countries more opportunities."

Japanese gymnast Kazuma Kaya, who was part of the silver medal-winning team in Tokyo, said he was unaffected by the absence of those clinched gold ahead of his team at the last Olympics.

"It doesn't mean anything to us. No matter who's here or not here, we're here to do the same thing," Kaya said.

"Even if Russia isn't here, an Olympic gold medal is not an easy thing to win."

For veteran British gymnast Max Whitlock, the absence of one of the world's strongest teams does indeed provide more space for other countries to have a chance at the podium, but has not changed the competition's dynamics.

"Of course, they are massively strong contender when it comes to any competition," Whitlock said.

"I think there's loads of strong contenders, so it's hard to say that it opens up (the competition). But I think if they were in, you'd like to think that they'd be up near the top."

The men's team final will feature eight countries: China, Japan, Britain, Ukraine, the United States, Italy, Switzerland and Canada. It begins at 1530 GMT on Monday at Bercy Arena in Paris.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, Chang-Ran Kim, Rory Carroll and Karen Braun; Editing by Alison Williams)