Durban 2022 chief executive Tubby Reddy had claimed last month that they will not go "beyond their budget" to stage the sport, along with track cycling, at the Games in seven years' time.

Artistic gymnastics was confirmed as one of 16 core sports which must appear at the Commonwealth Games following the passing of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Transformation 2022 reform process at its General Assembly in Auckland in September. 

It was not part of Durban's bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, however. 

Reddy claimed he believed gymnastics would be core sport for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, not 2022, after a total of 18 sports were proposed as part of the South African city's bid.

These were aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, hockey, judo, lawn bowls, netball, rugby sevens, shooting, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.

insidethegames understands the CGF still views artistic gymnastics as a core sport for Durban 2022 and Gueisbuhler remains confident it will take place when the Commonwealth Games come to Africa for the first time.

"The FIG has an excellent relationship with the chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation David Grevemberg and its new President Louise Martin," Gueisbuhler said in a statement sent to insidethegames.

"The CGF General Assembly has approved a sport programme in which artistic gymnastics is listed among the core sports.

"South Africa has committed to follow the decisions of the General Assembly and therefore, the FIG has no doubt that these decisions will be enforced in 2022."

The FIG secretary general refused to be drawn on whether the sport’s governing body would be willing to finance an artistic gymnastics competition at Durban 2022, however, after Reddy expressed concern about the costs and claimed the lack of a suitable facility would be an issue.

"We have made it very clear we are not going beyond the budgets we have put in place, if the International Gymnastics Federation comes to look at an event like that, someone has to pay for the facility," Reddy exclusively told insidethegames at the Association of National Olympic Committees General Assembly in Washington last month.

Artistic gymnastics has been a part of every Commonwealth Games since the 1990 edition in Auckland.

The sport was on the programme at Glasgow 2014, considered the greatest-ever edition of the CGF’s flagship quadrennial event, and took place at the SSE Hydro Arena, the recent venue for the 2015 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.


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