Russian and Belarusian athletes will continue to be "excluded" from international competitions in the "near future" due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Thursday the president of the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics), Sebastian Coe, one year and middle of the Paris Olympics.
For its part, the World Athletics Council decided to reinstate the Russian Athletics Federation, which had been suspended for more than seven years due to a major doping scandal. That decision does not change anything about the immediate participation of Russian athletes in the competitions.
The position of athletics, considered the number one Olympic sport, was especially expected and significant, at a time when world sport is debating whether to reintegrate Russian and Belarusian athletes, with the perspective above all of the Games of Paris-2024.
Read also: Mourning athletics: Wilfredys León passed away
After having "recommended" in February 2022 their exclusion from international competitions, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) showed at the beginning of the year its willingness to "explore ways" for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, eventually under the flag neutral and as long as they had not "actively supported the war in Ukraine".
World Athletics decided to establish a working group on the issue of the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The IOC's intention sparked great controversy and fears even of boycotts.
The International Fencing Federation (FIE), given the proximity of the start in April of the qualifying phase for the Olympic Games, voted on March 10 in favor of the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians into their competitions.
The Ukrainian Fencing Federation announced this week that it will boycott tournaments involving representatives of those two countries.
AFP
