World Athletics keeps Russian athlete restrictions in place

World Athletics will continue to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions, preserving one of the strictest positions in international sport. President Sebastian Coe said the federation would stand by its eligibility rules, rejecting the suggestion that the policy reflects a personal decision.

The restrictions were introduced in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have remained in force for more than four years. They continue even as the International Olympic Committee and several international federations have eased their own measures affecting Russian competitors. The change in the IOC’s approach left individual sports bodies free to set their own rules.

The Russian Athletics Federation has challenged World Athletics twice at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. Russian athletes have also approached human-rights bodies linked to the IOC and the United Nations, arguing that their exclusion violates their rights and damages their careers. RusAF executive director Boris Yaryshevsky has described the sanctions as unusually severe and accused Coe of making the policy personal.

Coe has rejected that criticism, presenting the ban as a question of competition integrity, athlete protection and the authority of an international federation to determine eligibility. His current term as World Athletics president is due to end in September 2027, when he will complete a third four-year mandate.