World Athletics rejects IOC recommendation to lift sanctions on Belarus

World Athletics, the governing body of athletics, will not lift sanctions on Belarusian athletes.

Source: The Times, citing Sebastian Coe, the organisation's president

Details: World Athletics will maintain strict sanctions against Belarus and Russia despite recommendations from the International Olympic Committee. The organisation's position was once again reaffirmed by its president.

"As a consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics sanctions implemented in March 2022 excluding Belarusian and Russian athletes, officials and supporting personnel from competition remain in place," Coe said.

The return of representatives from Russia and Belarus will only be possible after tangible progress in peace negotiations.

"Our Council has made a clear decision that when there is tangible movement towards peace negotiations it can begin to review its decisions. We all hope this will be soon, but until that happens the Council continues to be united in standing behind the decision it made in March 2022 and revisited in 2023 and 2025," the World Athletics president added.

Background:

• On 7 May, the IOC recommended that sports federations lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes' participation in international competitions. Currently, Belarusian representatives are allowed to compete under national symbols in aquatic sports, judo, sambo, taekwondo, football, futsal and beach soccer. In other sports, they can compete under a neutral status.
• The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine expressed protest against easing the restrictions on Belarus, calling for the sanctions to remain in force.

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