Exclusion continues: the World Athletics Federation maintains the anti-Russian line

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Despite the approach to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes under neutral status to the 2024 Olympic Games, the World Athletics Federation continues to stick to its anti-Russian line.

“World Athletics’ position on Russia’s participation remains unchanged and has been very clear from the outset,” World Athletics said on Wednesday in response to a SID request, referring to the existing exclusion of Russian athletes. “We will continue to monitor the situation, but if conditions do not change fundamentally by the time of the Olympic Games, this exclusion will also apply to Paris 2024,” it continued.

The World Association does not want neutral athletes

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), representatives of the international summer sports associations and several national Olympic committees campaigned on Tuesday during the 12th Olympic Summit to get athletes from the aggressor countries in the war in Ukraine as neutral athletes at the Summer Games next year. (July 26 to August 11). WA President Sebastian Coe (67) also took part in the meeting in Lausanne.

The opinion of the majority of invited associations to the Olympic Summit communicated by the IOC does not reflect WA’s position. “It is the responsibility of the IOC to decide which countries are invited to participate in the Olympic Games, but it is the responsibility of international sports federations to decide which athletes within their sport are eligible to participate,” clarifies World Athletics.

Unlike other sports, athletics has so far remained strict on the Russian issue, banning all athletes, coaches and officials from Russia and Belarus due to the war against Ukraine. ‘Neutral athletes’ were also not allowed to participate in the World Cup in Budapest last August. (AFP)

Source : Blick