World Athletics maintains ban against Russian and Belarusian athletes at World Championships

World Athletics has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be participating in July’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. Barring an unexpected end to the war in Ukraine, the sanctions first imposed in early March will continue.

When asked about the implications for Russian athletes at the event, World Athletics referred to their March 1st statement announcing the ban. Sebastian Coe, president of WA, commented:

“There’s not a single sports federation out there that naturally wants to exclude teams or individuals. That’s not something that we came into the sport for,” Coe said. “But I think we have to recognize that this is such a game-changer. And, yes, it will set precedents.”

The 2022 World Championships will be the largest international sporting event following the 2021 Olympic Games.

The Russian Track Federation has been banned from competing as a team or a host until 2023 due to doping scandals, but individual athletes had a chance at competing once vetted. Since 2015, Russian athletes have had to apply and compete within track and field events as ANA (Authorized Neutral Athletes). As of March, the 33 athletes who were granted ANA status can no longer compete on the world stage. This means they will not be heading to Eugene next month.

posted Friday June 3rd
by Keeley Milne