The International Olympic Committee (IOC) moved forward with the idea of permitting Russia and Belarus to compete in international events.
The IOC wants Russia in
In early December, the IOC recommended to governing bodies that the organization let the countries’ youth teams and athletes compete with their full identity, with national flag and anthem.
This may be the thin edge of the wedge toward full reinstatement—not a good look if athletes test positive going forward.
Athletes have “a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organizations,” the IOC said in a statement.
That message in support of athletes will be welcomed in Russia and Israel. The athletes in those countries are not the ones declaring war on their neighbours. However, Russia and Belarus continue to have anti-doping issues. The two countries were originally banned due to proven systematic doping. Nothing has been done to prove that the Russians have changed.
Russian suspension continues for now
The IOC’s latest move to improve relations with Russia started with the suggestion that the nation can demonstrate change with its own Youth Olympic Games. The event will be held next year in Dakar, Senegal, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13. The Russian Olympic body is still formally suspended by the IOC. And Russia currently cannot compete with its national uniforms, flag, anthems, or any other part of its identity.
“The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all governing bodies and international sports event organizers for their own youth events,” the IOC said.
It is certainly the thin edge of the wedge…
Biathlon appeals for reinstatement
Russian athletes are taking legal action against the IOC. This is an attempt to compete in biathlon at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games. This, after overturning bans in other sports, as the qualification period draws to a close.
Meanwhile, an unexpected death has occurred in the biathlon community.
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) was informed earlier in December by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that eight Russian athletes, along with Russia’s national biathlon and Paralympic bodies, had filed a claim against it.
The IBU defended its policy on Russia: “The IBU also reiterates that the IBU event and competition rules and the IBU constitution do not allow for a neutral-athlete pathway,” it added. “The IBU is confident in its position and will cooperate fully with CAS.”
Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryev said the legal action aimed to ensure Russians could qualify for the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Russian television, calling the IBU “absolutely outrageous.”
If the Russian biathletes win in court and the youth teams also partake, as per IOC president Cristy Coventry recommends. It will be the beginning of a full reinstatement process.
The IOC should be reminded that Russia’s systematic doping program has not shown signs of change.
Current Russian ban
While Russia is currently banned from sport due to its illegal incursion into Ukraine, the country is really banned due to doping. The war is a convenient reason to keep the backward country out.
Degtyarev, while speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, stated that the main task for the entire professional Russian sports community is a “full-fledged return to international competition.”
“The contribution of the champions of our sporting nation is immense, and Russia, and before it the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire, have rightfully earned their place,” he said.
Whilst singing to the choir, Degtyarev avoided discussing how the champions were made. As the global community has come to know, it was solely based on mass cheating. The Russians, like the East Germans before them, created a systematic doping program that was ubiquitous.
On Nov. 8, Athletics Illustrated published an article about how the World Anti-Doping Agency task force assigned to Russia had banned the final batch of athletes around the 2012 London Olympic Games. The doping was so thorough that the Russians sullied the integrity of the Games.
However, little to nothing has changed in Russia. For example, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced in November that Aleksei Mokrov, a 20-year-old player, had been suspended under its Anti-Doping Program for a banned substance.
Mokrov tested positive for nandrolone.
Of course, as athletes always do, he emphatically denied that he was doping. Like Degtyarev, Mokrov was aggressively arrogant in his assertion that the lab failed.
He blamed the system, including the WADA-approved lab, as if he had some insight into the matter.
Meanwhile, both his A and B samples tested positive for nandrolone metabolites. Nandrolone is a drug that is classified as an anabolic agent under Section S1.1 of the 2024 WADA Prohibited List.
During his speech at the Forum, Degtyarev continued.
“Our task is to return and take a place in accordance with our contribution. The process is moving forward inexorably. This year and last year, more than 3500 athletes have gained the right to participate in international competitions in 28 sports.”
No. Russia’s 3500 have not gained the right to participate in international competition. This statement is willful arrogance. The 3500 athletes may or may not have gained the privilege to participate, but they have not gained the right.
Doping ban lifted
In March 2023, the original eight-year doping ban was lifted on RusAF by the World Athletics Council. After it was determined that Russia had met all the requirements of a detailed reinstatement plan.
However, a war-related ban continues. Despite the lifting of the doping ban, World Athletics has maintained a separate, indefinite ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes. Support personnel are also banned. As well as officials from its events due to the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has stated that the sanctions would stay in place until a “peace agreement was reached.”
One option is to let RusAF and ROC back in on the premise that the Russian nation pays fully for 100 per cent of its athletes to be tested in advance, during and after international competition. The nation should be fully banned again should any athletes test positive. According to their Keystone Kops-style of sports management, Russia is not organized enough to get away without some positive tests.
Unlike other sports where Russian athletes have been allowed to compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the Authorized Neutral Athlete program in athletics has been discontinued. The current World Athletics ban means that no Russian athletes can compete in World Athletics Series events, not even neutrally.
World Athletics’ position on Russian ban
World Athletics (WA) maintains a ban on the two countries. This is due to the war in Ukraine, despite lifting a prior doping-related suspension for Russia’s athletics federation (RusAF) in 2023. This is separate from the IOC ban, where just the sport of athletics is targeted.
As per above, in March 2023, WA reinstated RusAF after years of doping sanctions but immediately imposed a new ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes, support staff, and officials from WA events. Also, the countries cannot host international events.
Meanwhile, a WA working group is continually evaluating the situation, with recommendations to keep sanctions in place until the war is ended.
WA, via President Lord Sebastian Coe, is seeking to add cross-country racing to the Winter Olympic Games. He has been lobbying the IOC for reinstatement. A move to change the Olympic Charter would need to be tabled and voted on. The next World Athletics Cross Country Championships take place in January in Tallahassee, Florida, on the January 10-11 weekend; no Russians will be competing.
