MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) has taken note of the recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in regard to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and national athletes and will study the documents to determine the procedure of their return to international competitions, the IBSF press office said in a statement to TASS on Wednesday.
The International Olympic Committee announced a decision on July 7 to provisionally lift an earlier-imposed suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and also recommended lifting restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in all international tournaments.
"The IBSF acknowledges the IOC's latest decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and that its previous recommendations to International Federations with regard to Russian athletes’ participation are no longer applicable," the statement reads.
"The IBSF will now review its own Statutes, Rules and Regulations to determine the appropriate process and any necessary amendments for their implementation within the IBSF framework," the statement added.
In early June, the IBSF elected a new president of the global sports federation, Heike Groesswang from Germany. The IBSF is now expected to consider the possibility of bringing Russian athletes back for the federation’s licensed tournament in the first half of September.
In mid-July 2022, the IBSF announced its decision to suspend Russian athletes from all international tournaments until further notice.
In late March, 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended international sports federations to allow individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.
IOC previously-imposed sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating 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.
In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.
On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.