MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The organizational committee of the women’s bodybuilding championship, which will take place in Tokyo between December 16 and 19, decided to authorize Russian athletes to compete only in neutral status under the pressure from Japanese authorities, the Russian Bodybuilding Federation told TASS.

"Under the pressure of the Japanese government, the organizational committee of the women’s world championship was forced to make a decision that the Russian national team would be able to compete only in the neutral status, that is, without the flag and the anthem, due to concerns of security in Japan," the federation representative told TASS. "This decision was made at the very last moment, when the Russian national team has already been formed to take part in the world championship. We received the official letter from the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) citing the Japanese organizational committee only on November 10."

In mid-July, the IFBB executive committee decided to authorize Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in world and Europe championships under national flags and anthems. Before July 2024, Russian athletes could compete under the national flag in all international competitions except for world and Europe competitions, where they were supposed to compete in neutral status only.

"The IFBB letter that we received on November 10 points out that, in the future, the right to host world championships will be provided only to countries that adhere to IFBB rules and decisions, and will provide equal competition conditions for all national teams. It is very unpleasant when politics get involved in sports, and, of course, it negatively affects the development of sport. Sport must unite people, not divide them," the representative said.

In 2025, the men’s world championship will take place in Saudi Arabia and the women’s championship will take place in China.