The swimming world association Fina wants to continue allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to start as neutral athletes in international competitions.
As the association announced, the members of the executive committee confirmed this in a video conference. This decision against a blanket exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes was supported by the overwhelming majority of the athletes’ commission, it said.
Instead, Fina now wants to make individual decisions as to whether athletes from Russia and Belarus are allowed to start. An amendment to the articles of association was passed for this purpose. With this legal basis, the association could “possibly prevent athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus from participating in an upcoming Fina event if their participation endangers the safety and well-being of the athletes or poses a risk to the conduct of competitions,” it said in the association statement.
After the Belarus-backed Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the vast majority of world sports federations banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams from competitions. This had previously been recommended by the International Olympic Committee.