MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The omission of Russian swimmers’ victories at the 2024 World Aquatics Championship (25m) has naturally provoked outrage within the global community, a senior lawmaker from the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) told TASS on Thursday.

Europe’s governing swimming body, European Aquatics, earlier shared news and photos of all December 11 medalists at the championship on its X social network but failed to mention Russian swimmer Miron Lifintsev, who won gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke event.

"Such blatant behavior elicits the outrage of the global community," Dmitry Svishchev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, said.

"The victories of our athletes cannot be silenced or erased, as they are officially recorded," he continued. "Furthermore, numerous foreign athletes are voicing their support for our swimmers."

"Thus, it is high time to recognize that our athletes’ gradual return to the international arena is underway," Svishchev added.

Lifintsev, 18, who is also the junior world record holder in the 100-meter backstroke, completed the distance in 48.76 seconds to claim gold. Hungary’s Hubert Kos secured silver with a time of 48.79 seconds, and Kacper Stokowski of Poland earned bronze, clocking in at 49.16 seconds.

On Wednesday night, European Aquatics posted multiple photos featuring Hubert Kos and Kacper Stokowski but did not mention the new world champion from Russia, Miron Lifintsev.

2024 World Aquatics Championship (25m)

A total of 27 Russian swimmers have been granted neutral status to participate in the 2024 World Aquatics Championship (25m), which is taking place in Budapest, Hungary, from December 10-15.

According to the competition’s official website, "Swimmers from around 200 nations will compete in 45 events over six days of action. The World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) features an impressive $2.025 million prize purse and a $25,000 bonus for any World Record set at the Championships."

In March 2023, World Aquatics (known as FINA until December 2022) decided to bar Russia and Belarus from participating in any future FINA-sanctioned international swimming events.

Before the World Aquatics ruling in March 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations on February 28, 2022, advising international sports federations to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments.