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The All-Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an effort to overturn World Athletics’ suspension of its athletes from international competition due to the war in Ukraine.
The suspensions started in 2015
World Athletics initially banned Russia and Belarus from international competition in 2015 for systematic doping. The reason changed in March 2022, shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The suspension was continued after a council meeting last week.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) began the process of allowing Russian athletes back into competition. The IOC is anticipating that the Russian athletes will be welcome to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The IOC and World Athletics have at times been at odds in the view of Russian athletes competing internationally. Former IOC president Thomas Bach often sympathized with Russia, while World Athletics president Sebastian Coe did not. Now, Kirsty Coventry has taken over the helm at the IOC.
Russia’s current position on the matter
In a release, RusAF claims that World Athletics’ position “affects the fundamental interests of athletics in Russia. And the suspension restricts Russian athletes’ right to compete, on grounds that Russian Athletics considers discriminatory.” The federation added that it “continues to pursue all available legal measures to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”
Bach and Russian officials have argued that numerous conflicts are unfolding worldwide. And they argue that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not fundamentally different from other ongoing military actions. At the time of the suspension, Ethiopia was locked in the intermittent Tigray conflict. Mexico continued its long‑running fight against drug cartels, and civil wars persisted in Sudan, Myanmar, and Syria. The United States has also been engaged in recurring military operations across the Middle East. In some regions, the pattern resembles a proxy dynamic. For example, where the US backs Israel, and Russia supports Israel’s adversaries, which is currently Iran.
World Athletics will defend the case.
“We take note of the Russian athletics federation’s appeal to CAS. And we will be strenuously defending our position,” it stated. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said last week his organization discussed options for “a conditional pathway back into international competition.” This was for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but they opted against it.
Coe said, “We presented options for the council to consider on this matter. However, the original decision remains on the sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions. With no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialized.”
The IOC and World Athletics differ
The IOC has permitted Russian athletes to compete internationally under a neutral flag. This includes Paris 2024 and Milano‑Cortina 2026, where 32 Russian/Belarusian athletes competed as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN).
World Athletics, however, has maintained a full ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes since March 2022. And has repeatedly reaffirmed that position, even after the IOC lifted its own restrictions.
Russian athletes who have been suspended for doping-related offences since 2022 include several athletes, such as figure skater Kamila Valieva. In January 2024, the CAS handed her a four-year suspension (backdated to December 25, 2021). The suspension followed her positive test for the banned substance trimetazidine. Her results from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics were officially disqualified, stripping Russia of the team event gold.
Meanwhile, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and CAS finalized several major historical cases in 2022 using the LIMS database. This resulted in significant bans and the stripping of Olympic medals. They include Natalya Antyukh, Elena Lashmanova, Tagir Khaibulaev and Aleksandr Ivanov.
In October 2022, Antyukh received an additional disqualification of her results from 2012–2013 due to LIMS evidence. She did not appeal. Therefore, her victory in the 400m hurdles at the London 2012 Olympic Games was officially stripped in December 2022.
In March 2022, the AIU handed Lashmanova a two-year ban (retroactive to March 2021) based on LIMS database evidence. All of her results between February 2012 and January 2014 were wiped. She was stripped of her London 2012 Olympic gold and the 2013 World Championship title in the 20km race walk.
Several other mid-tier and elite track athletes received varying bans during the continuous cleanup of historical testing data processed through RUSADA and the AIU across 2022 and 2023.
Suspensions have been handed down via the LIMS system to weight lifters and athletes who competed in various other sports.
