Russia says it will challenge World Athletics’ continued ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). World Athletics had announced last Friday that the ban remains in place, a measure originally imposed in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reporting across outlets indicates that the case is focused on the continuation of the restriction and Russia’s dispute with World Athletics’ position.
One outlet also notes that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approach allows individual sports to decide how to handle Russian participation in their own competitions. Under this framework, sports federations may set policies on whether athletes can compete using flags and anthems, including the possibility of allowing competitions to be staged in Russia under specific conditions. The different accounts emphasize that, despite broader international discussion about participation formats, World Athletics continues to maintain its ban for Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The sources collectively describe Russia’s decision to pursue CAS as an effort to seek a change to the athletics ban, rather than accepting the restriction as currently applied.
