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International Equestrian Federation grants neutral status permits to two Russian athletes

The neutral status has been granted to Maria Kabukova, the winner of the Eurasian Games and the Kremlin Cup, and Svetlana Kostina

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has granted two more Russian athletes the right to compete as neutrals in international tournaments, according to a document from the federation published on Tuesday.

The neutral status has been granted to Maria Kabukova, the winner of the Eurasian Games and the Kremlin Cup, and Svetlana Kostina.

To date, 47 Russian equestrian athletes have been cleared to compete as neutrals internationally.

Russian athletes have been barred from FIE-sponsored tournaments since March 2022 after the International Equestrian Federation slapped Russian equestrian sports with sanctions due to the country’s special military operation in Ukraine.

In November 2023, at a meeting of the FIE Bureau, held within the framework of the organization's General Assembly in Mexico, a decision was made that it was necessary to change the measures imposed on Russian athletes, horses, officials, horse owners and accompanying staff.

The FEI headquarters was instructed to work out criteria allowing individual Russian athletes, horses, officials, and so on to resume participation in FEI competitions under a neutral status, and to come up with an application form for this status.

In early November, the FEI ruled to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at international tournaments in team events starting from January 1, 2026. The FEI General Assembly also made a decision to allow Belarus to host federation-sponsored competitions starting in 2026.

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