Not every sport is on board with the International Olympic Committee’s decision Friday to allow Russian and Belarusians to participate at the Paris 2024 Olympics as individual neutral athletes.
World Athletics president Seb Coe doubled down on the global governing body’s stance against Russian and Belarusian track and field athletes competing on the international stage while their countries’ war in Ukraine remains ongoing.
“You may well see some neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus in Paris, but they just won’t be in from athletics,” Coe said. “The position our sport took — and has consistently taken — on this is unchanged.
“We have a fixed position and that’s not altered and I think it’s right that international federations should make judgements that they feel are in the best interest that they feel are in the best interests of their sport and that’s what our council has done,” Coe added. “Ours is a settled position. We’ve made the judgement that there will be no fully fledged or even neutral status athletes there.”
Coe, a former British track star, won Olympic gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Games, which were marked by boycotts from the U.S. and Russia, respectively.
According to Athletics Weekly, there are only 12 Russian and six Belarusian track and field athletes with Paris 2024 Olympic standards, including medal contenders Mariya Lasitskene (high jump), Danil Lysenko (high jump), and Anzhelika Sidirova (pole vault).
In its announcement on Friday, the IOC said that “only a very limited number” of Russian and Belarusian athletes will qualify as neutrals through the existing qualification systems of their federations, noting that just 11 individual neutral athletes have been approved so far (eight Russians and three Belarusians).
World Aquatics decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to the international stage in September, and a few Belarusian swimmers competed at the final stop of the World Cup Series in Budapest in October. Some Russian swimmers are expected to return to international competition next February at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Russians and Belarusians were banned from international competition following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (assisted by Belarus) in February of 2022. About a year later, in March of this year, the IOC issued recommendations paving the way for their return while stopping short of making an official decision — until today.
According to the United Nations, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last year. In October, Ukraine’s minister of youth and sports said that 361 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died in the war, adding that more than 3,000 others are currently fighting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Glad to see the growth of backbone among some international federations.
Sadly, FINA/World Aquatics washed its spine out with the bath water ages ago.
If you’re a potentially medal-winning Russian or Belarussian athlete, you can ‘oppose’ the war and not go to prison.
Should probably ban Israel too for its invasion.
Maybe, but start by watching the videos from Israel from October 7th including the youth Music festival.
So sad that people really think that athletes who have absolutely nothing to do with the war should be punished for the stupidity of their non democratic leaders. Leave the athletes alone, they didn’t choose to invade anyone
World Aquatics is too weak and unethical to make a similar call. Shame on their corruption!
Wish Swimming had someone with a backbone like Coe
Good. F-putin. Actions have consequences.
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