Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, confirmed on Sunday, September 13, in Budapest, during the final day of the Ultimate Championship, that the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes would remain in place. The decision highlights the differences between International Federations over their return to competition and presents athletics with an upcoming test: defending before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) the sanctions that the Russian federation has challenged.
“Our position hasn’t changed,” Coe said. He placed the integrity of competition at the heart of his argument and rejected the suggestion that the policy was based on politics or nationality. Russian and Belarusian athletes have remained excluded from international athletics competitions since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while other sports have opened pathways for their participation.
Russia’s two claims before CAS
Russia’s legal action before CAS involves two claims with different scopes. On July 9, the federation appealed against the decision to extend its athletes’ exclusion. In August, it filed a new claim against restrictions affecting its own operations: it argues that these prevent it from participating in World Athletics’ decision-making processes and limit its representatives’ and specialists’ involvement in meetings and training programmes. The international governing body has confirmed that it will defend its position before the tribunal.
The contrast can be seen in sports such as swimming and fencing, whose international governing bodies have allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to return. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also provisionally lifted the Russian Olympic Committee’s suspension in July, although it clarified that the decision did not amount to a broader change in its position towards Russia. The IOC itself noted that competitions outside the Games fall under the authority of the respective International Federations.
Athletics maintains its conditions for a return
In athletics, World Athletics links the continued ban to the consequences of the war for competition. When reaffirming the sanctions in July, it said Ukrainian athletes’ ability to train and compete remained severely compromised. It also explained that its Council had examined options for a conditional return but decided to maintain the restrictions in the absence of tangible progress towards peace negotiations.
That context gives the CAS proceedings a significance that could extend beyond the Russian case. A future ruling could help define how far a federation’s autonomy extends in maintaining its participation restrictions. The opening of other sports provides a point of comparison, although it does not in itself determine the validity of athletics’ measures or allow the outcome of the appeals to be predicted.
Coe acknowledges the need for a solution
Coe, meanwhile, acknowledges that the situation needs a solution and maintains the long-term objective of restoring full global participation in athletics. That ambition has yet to translate into a pathway back: World Athletics is maintaining the sanctions and will defend its position before CAS.
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