World Triathlon has approved, in principle, the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international triathlon.
Earlier this year, there was a question mark as to whether the two countries would be permitted to participate in international competition.
Following the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Triathlon will be lifting the suspension to Russia and Belarus. The ban was instituted in March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Belarus was banned for its support of the invasion. In the original attacks against Ukraine, the Belarusian border was used by Russian forces as a point of attack.
As per the announcement, “World Triathlon supports the development of a pathway for independent neutral individual Athletes and Officials with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate in our sports. World Triathlon will in consultation with the IOC and ASOIF work towards developing the necessary independent review processes to allow and plan for the return of these individuals to our competitions and events.“
Going forward, the plan will be to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag. World Triathlon is currently devising a process to review potential entrants from the respective countries.
Alongside the news, World Triathlon reaffirmed its solidarity with Ukraine. It also noted that “the independence of any athlete or official was an absolute condition of their returning to a World Triathlon event.”
With the conflict in Ukraine ongoing, political pressure had increased over the past few months to find a political solution to Russia’s ongoing exile from the international sporting arena.
This shift comes less than a month after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of President Vladimir Putin following war crimes committed in Ukraine.
