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World Sailing extends suspension of Russian, Belarusian athletes

On March 1, 2022, World Sailing ruled to suspend all Russian and Belarusian athletes from international completions held under its aegis

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. World Sailing’s governing body announced a decision to keep barring Russian and Belarusian athletes from international tournaments, the federation’s website said in a statement.

"Although there was no formal vote, there was very clear majority support for maintaining World Sailing’s current position in relation to the return to international competition for athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus," the statement reads.

On March 1, 2022, World Sailing ruled to suspend all Russian and Belarusian athletes from international completions held under its aegis.

"The [World Sailing] Board recognizes that the Fundamental Principles of Olympism inform the IOC’s recommendation to allow the return of Russian and Belarusian competitors as individual neutral athletes," the federation said in its statement on Wednesday. "Given the timing of the return is a matter for the International Federations, the Board’s decision remains consistent."

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.

At its session on January 25, 2023, the IOC 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.