World Athletics, the international athletics federation, confirmed on Friday that the Russians will not be admitted to the upcoming World Championships in Athletics due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Posted at 12:17 p.m.
The federation had banned Russian athletes from all major international competitions when the conflict broke out in February. At the time, WA Chairman Sebastian Coe said the unprecedented move seemed the “only peaceful way to disrupt Russia’s plans and restore peace”.
The World Championships get underway next Friday in Eugene, Oregon. They will be contested until July 24.
World Athletics confirmed the suspension in a statement in which it said 18 more athletes from Russia will be able to compete neutrally in international competitions, but that approval did not apply to Worlds.
These athletes were reinstated under the protocol put in place following the suspension imposed on the Russian Athletics Federation in 2015 due to the doping scandal that hit the body. At the Tokyo Games in the summer of 2021, 10 Russians took part in athletics competitions. At the 2019 Worlds, 29 Russians were able to participate.
There are now 73 athletes from Russia who can participate neutrally in international competitions, although their status for these competitions is compromised by the war in Ukraine.
Among these athletes is the reigning world and Olympic champion in the high jump, Maria Lasitskene, who has never lost on the international stage. Last month, she blasted the decision in an open letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, who recommended the suspension of Russian athletes.
Lasitskene’s main rivals come from Ukraine. She said “not yet knowing what to say to them or being able to look them in the eye”.
“Their relatives, their friends and they are going through what no human being should ever go through,” she said.