The International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by President Thomas Bach, is once again allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports competitions, subject to certain conditions. The final decision rests with the professional associations. Here is an overview of positions from major Olympic sports on the IOC recommendation.
athletics
“Nothing has changed in the position of World Athletics,” said the World Athletics Federation on Wednesday. It is the “task of the respective international associations to decide”. And the resolutions of March 23 would continue to apply.
“The death and destruction” that the world has endured since the attack on Ukraine around a year ago, “including the death of 185 athletes, has only increased my resolve on this matter,” WA President Sebastian Coe said recently and thus came into opposition to Bach. Russia and Belarus remain banned from competitions for the foreseeable future.
Do gymnastics
The world association FIG “took note of the latest recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023”, it said on “SID” request: “The sanctions imposed by the Executive Committee of the FIG on March 3, 2023, according to which Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, including judges, not to participate in FIG competitions or FIG-sanctioned competitions remain in effect until further notice.”
The association will continue to monitor the overall situation and reserves the right to change its assessment in the event of new developments.
fencing
Even before the latest developments on the Russia question, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) dared to make a much-discussed move and clearly advocated that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete again.
The decision, adopted by a good two-thirds majority at the Extraordinary Congress of the FIE, will apply from April. The Ukrainian federation then announced a boycott of all competitions. The German Fencing Federation (DFeB) withdrew from hosting the Women’s Foil World Cup in Tauberbischofsheim in May.
boxing
The scandal-plagued international amateur boxing association IBA, led by the Russian Umar Kremlev, admitted Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi – with a flag and an anthem. The same should apply to the men’s World Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from May 1st to 14th.
Several nations, including Ukraine, the United States and Great Britain, responded with boycotts. The German Boxing Association (DBV) also omits the title fights – but this is said to have official preparation-related reasons.
biathlon
The International Biathlon Union IBU has “taken note of the new IOC recommendations for the neutral participation of individual athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions and will carefully examine them,” according to an IBU statement.
Of course, in the long term, the federation is “open to a dialogue on how athletes from Russia and Belarus can be reintegrated into our competitions. But given the current situation in Ukraine, the reasons that led to the decision of the congress are still valid. The time has not come to reconsider this decision.”
Tobogganing
The world luge association FIL does not want to change anything for the time being. “The FIL has an executive decision in place that excludes Russian athletes from FIL competitions.
At this point in time there is no reason to change our position,” Latvian FIL President Einars Fogelis told SID.