One of the most important world associations refuses to follow the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the Belarus decision.
World Athletics wants to continue to adhere to its sanctions from March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Our council has clearly decided to review its decisions as soon as concrete progress towards peace negotiations can be seen. We all hope that this will be the case soon. Until then, however, the council stands united behind its decision of March 2022, which will be reviewed again in 2023 and 2025,” a spokesman for the World Athletics Federation told the Times.
WA President Sebastian Coe, himself an IOC member, traveled to Ukraine ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to meet athletes and President Volodymyr Zelensky to underline his solidarity. As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, WA imposed sanctions on Belarusian and Russian athletes, officials and support staff in March 2022 and banned them from competitions.
The International Olympic Committee lifted sanctions against athletes from Belarus on Thursday. The IOC announced this after an executive meeting led by President Kirsty Coventry. Athletes from Belarus are now allowed to compete in international competitions under their own flag and with their own anthem, and teams are also allowed again. Russia, on the other hand, remains excluded for the time being.
Both nations had been largely banned from world sport since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Until the end, only individual athletes who did not actively support the war were allowed to compete under neutral status. The IOC has now withdrawn this recommendation to the world associations, at least for Belarus.