ST. PETERSBURG, June 6. /TASS/. Russian sports federations should use every available instrument to challenge the unjust ban against the country competing internationally, Dmitry Mazepin, the head of the Russian Aquatic Sports Federation (RASF), told TASS on Saturday.
In mid-April, the world’s governing body of swimming sports, World Aquatics (formerly known as FINA), lifted all previously imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus, allowing their athletes to compete again under the countries’ flags and to the tune of national anthems.
"We [the federation] as well as the rest of our athletes participating in top-level athletics adhere to the Olympic Charter. It stipulates that sports have no borders, and politics is separate from sports. I won't go too deep into the history, but there were disagreements and situations when conflicts were paused so that everyone could take part in the Olympic Games," Mazepin said in an interview with TASS speaking on the sidelines of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"And then there was the 1980 [Summer Olympics], when the Americans refused to come to Moscow for the Games. And 1984, when we refused to come to Los Angeles. If we look at the big picture here, entire generations of athletes, who prepared vigorously to compete at the top of their sport, to battle at the highest speeds, meter by meter, were simply stripped of this opportunity," he continued.
"I wish the athletes weren’t subject to this ‘injustice.’ They are absolutely honest in their behavior, they are engaged in a very complicated and, sometimes, even superhuman, business. Therefore, they must be cleared. Regardless of nationality, regardless of the country of origin. And I believe that there is only one motto in sports - let the strongest win," Mazepin emphasized.
The Russian sports official also stated that Russian sports federations should resort to every available instrument - legal, diplomatic and otherwise - to challenge the unjust suspension against the country competing internationally.
"Both the Russian national sports federations and the Russian Olympic Committee [ROC] are using these instruments," Mazepin noted. "But one can see how long these processes take. Lawsuits can last years - five, six, seven years. We were suspended for doping in 2014, but the effects of these WADA-related issues still persist 12 years on."
"I wish our athletes were not being subjected to this unfair treatment. Athletes who fully comply with all WADA regulations, pass all doping tests - they should just have to qualify in their discipline and compete in those competitions for which they prepare and train all their lives," Mazepin added.
2026 SPIEF
The 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is taking place on June 3-6 and is the 29th edition. This year, the event is held under the theme "Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future." Saudi Arabia is the guest country at SPIEF. The forum program is dedicated to shaping a new model of global development amid the ongoing transformation of the world economy.
The program includes the SME Forum, the Creative Industries Forum, the Day of the Future International Youth Economic Forum, and the Ensuring Drug Security Forum. As part of the cultural program, the Petersburg Seasons festival and the traditional SPIEF Sports Games will take place. This year, Russia’s national economic development institution VEB.RF is the title partner of SPIEF.
The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS is its official general information partner.