07/09/26 12:02:00
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07/09 09:12 CDT Russia heads to sports court to overturn its ban from
international track and field
Russia heads to sports court to overturn its ban from international track and
field
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) --- Russia's track and field federation says it has
gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a World Athletics ruling
suspending its athletes from international events due to the war in Ukraine.
World Athletics excluded all athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from its
international events in March 2022, days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
It kept that suspension in place at a council meeting last week. Since then,
the International Olympic Committee has eased its restrictions on Russia ahead
of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics --- something the Kremlin hailed as an
"important step" --- and recommended other sports bodies do the same.
"Russian Athletics notes that World Athletics' decision affects the fundamental
interests of athletics in Russia and restricts Russian athletes' right to
compete, on grounds that Russian Athletics considers discriminatory," the
Russian track federation said in a statement.
"Russian Athletics continues to pursue all available legal measures to protect
the interests of Russian athletes."
World Athletics vowed to defend the case.
"We take note of the Russian athletics federation's appeal to CAS, and we will
be strenuously defending our position," it said in a statement. CAS confirmed
it has received "a request for arbitration" without giving details of when it
could be heard.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said last week his organization
discussed options for "a conditional pathway back into international
competition" for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but opted against.
"We presented options for the council to consider on this matter, however, the
original decision remains on the sanctions that protect the integrity and
fairness of our competitions, with no tangible movement towards peace
negotiations having materialized," he said.
Russia hasn't competed under its own flag at a world athletics championships
since 2015, when the Russian track federation was suspended over widespread
doping.
A program allowing its athletes to compete under a neutral flag was ended in
2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics' original doping suspension
was lifted in 2023.
No Russians competed in Olympic athletics at the 2024 Paris Games because the
qualification system is overseen by World Athletics, even though the IOC
allowed neutral athletes in other sports.
Volleyball changes policy
Volleyball became the first major Olympic team sport to welcome Russia back
since the IOC decision. Its governing body, the FIVB, said in a statement
Wednesday that it plans to allow back Russian teams and players at all levels.
"This approach reflects the FIVB's commitment to protecting the fundamental
right of athletes to access sport regardless of their nationality," it said.
It's not yet clear if those teams will play with Russian national symbols,
though.
"The display of the Russian flag, anthem, colors or any other identifications
will be at the discretion of the FIVB and the European Volleyball Confederation
and decided in due time in consultation with the relevant international sports
organizations to guarantee the full participation of the athletes," the FIVB
added.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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