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Russian weightlifters to skip IWF Grand Prix in Cuba next month — statement

The International Weightlifting Federation has not received signed declarations from the Russians necessary for admission to competitions

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. Russian weightlifters will skip the 2023 IWF (the International Weightlifting Federation) Grand Prix in Cuba next month, the IWF’s press office announced in a statement.

The IWF Executive Board made a decision on May 12 to clear weightlifters from Russia and Belarus for the international tournament in Cuba under a neutral status. The IWF ruled that all athletes seeking neutral status must fill out and submit individual declarations (commitments), in which they must confirm that they currently had no contractual or other links with the Armed Forces, state security agencies or other structures that provide support for the special military operation in Ukraine.

"No signed declarations were received from athletes or support personnel with a Russian passport by the end of the established deadline (May 15, 2023)," the statement from the IWF reads.

"Therefore, AIN [neutral] lifters and related staff with Russian passports lost the opportunity to enter the upcoming IWF event in Cuba," according to the statement. "The IWF gave an equal and fair opportunity to the athletes and support personnel from both concerned countries to participate at the IWF Grand Prix in La Havana (CUB). These recommendations follow the IOC guidelines."

The 2023 IWF Grand Prix is scheduled to be hosted by Cuba’s Havana on June 8-18 and it has the status of the qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in France. The IWF said in its statement that it received signed individual declarations from 13 Belarusian weightlifters and granted them a neutral status to participate in the tournament.

At its session on January 25, 2023, the IOC (the International Olympic Committee) Executive Board put forward a proposal to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Athletes from the countries in question should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status.

IOC’s ban on Russia’s international participation

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

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