World Athletics defies IOC, maintains ban on Russians and Belarusians in Paris Olympics
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The World Athletics association will not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, despite the controversial decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), WAA President Seb Coe told Athletics Weekly on Dec. 8.
World Athletics made this decision earlier and will not change its position despite the IOC's statement.
Read also: Truly neutral Russian athletes should compete in 2024 Olympics – Kharlan
"You may well see some neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus in Paris, but they just won’t be in from athletics,” Coe said.
"I think it’s right that international federations should make judgements that they feel are in the best interests of their sport and that’s what our council has done. Ours is a settled position. We’ve made the judgement that there will be no fully fledged or even neutral status athletes there."
Read also: Ukrainian Olympian Yaroslava Mahuchikh urges global sports ban on Russia, Belarus in video plea
The IOC allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the competition in a neutral status and set several requirements for this on Dec. 8.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Sports called this decision "condoning murderers." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the IOC had thus given Russia the green light to use the Olympics as a weapon.
Former Ukrainian national football player Yevhen Levchenko called on Ukraine to boycott the Olympics.
Olympic champion and MP Zhan Beleniuk said the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympics came as no surprise.
We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
