The Russian Athletics Federation has turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to overturn World Athletics’ decision to suspend Russian athletes from international competition over the war in Ukraine.In March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, World Athletics banned athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from participating in all international events.The governing body decided to continue the suspension at last week’s council meeting. The move comes as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently eased restrictions on Russian athletes ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and recommended that other international sports federations take a similar approach. The Kremlin called the IOC’s decision an “important step.”The Russian Athletics Federation said in a statement that the continued suspension had an unfair impact on its athletes.“The Russian Athletics Federation points out that World Athletics’ decision affects the fundamental interests of Russian athletics and restricts the right of Russian athletes to participate. The Russian Athletics Federation considers this to be discriminatory.“Russian Athletics will continue to take all available legal measures to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”CAS has not yet confirmed whether it has officially registered the case, according to the Associated Press.Last week, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the governing body had discussed the possibility of creating “a conditional pathway back to international competition” for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but ultimately decided against it.“We presented the matter to the Board of Governors for consideration, but the initial decision remains a sanction that protects the integrity and fairness of our competition without concrete progress towards peace negotiations,” he said.Russia has not competed at the World Athletics Championships under its flag since 2015, when the Russian Athletics Federation was suspended due to a widespread doping scandal.Although a system was later introduced that allowed Russian athletes to compete as neutrals, it was revoked in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics lifted the original doping-related ban in 2023.Although the IOC allows neutral athletes to compete in several other sports, no Russian athletes will compete in track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympics because track and field qualifications are controlled by World Athletics.
