World Athletics rejects IOC proposal to lift Belarus ban
World Athletics has rejected the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation to lift the ban on Belarusian athletes and teams competing under their nation’s flag.
The IOC’s executive board on Thursday called on international sports federations and event organizers to allow the country to return to international competition while maintaining restrictions on Russia.
Both countries were suspended from Olympic competition after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and Belarus is a close ally of Russia. A partial ban was introduced in 2023, allowing athletes to compete as neutrals.
IOC said:, external He said that unlike Russia, the Belarusian National Olympic Committee (NOC) “is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter”.
The statement noted that since 2023, “athletes holding Belarusian passports have participated in numerous international sports events, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, as individual neutral athletes (AINs) without any incidents on or off the field.”
He added that it “reaffirms that the participation of athletes in international competitions should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including war or conflict.”
But in response, a World Athletics spokesperson said: “As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics sanctions imposed in March 2022, which exclude Belarusian and Russian athletes, officials and support staff from competitions, remain in force.
“Our council has made a clear decision that it can begin to review its decisions once there is concrete movement towards peace negotiations. We all hope for this to happen soon, but until this happens, the council will remain united in standing by the decision it adopted in March 2022 and revisited in 2023 and 2025.”
The proposal and response come with the qualifying period for both the LA28 Olympic Games and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games starting this summer.
