MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has lifted its recommendations regarding the non-admission of Russian athletes, but the return to the international arena is within the responsibility of each particular sports federation, the IOC press office said in a statement to TASS on Wednesday.

According to previous TASS reports, Russian track and field athletes have submitted appeals to the United Nations, the IOC and World Athletics against their ban in international tournaments.

"As set out in the IOC Executive Board decision of 7 July 2026, the IOC’s recommended conditions of participation for International Federations and international sports event organizers, as they relate to Russian athletes and teams, are no longer applicable," the statement reads.

"However, International Federations are responsible for determining the eligibility criteria applicable to participation in their respective competitions, in accordance with their rules and statutes. We refer you to World Athletics," according to the IOC.

On July 3, the Council of World Athletics ruled to uphold the suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus from its sponsored international competitions, noting that it was still considering options regarding their admission.

About a week later, the All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF) submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against World Athletics’ decision to prolong the suspension of Russian track and field athletes.

In March 2022, World Athletics announced a decision to bar all Russian and Belarusian athletes from international track and field tournaments due to the developments in Ukraine.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) 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.

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.