Russia challenges world athletics ban at court of sports as IOC eases restrictions

A man walks out of the Russian National Olympic Committee building in Moscow, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo) The Russian Athletics Federation has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to overturn a decision by World Athletics to ban Russian athletes from international competition due to the war in Ukraine.World athletics banned athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from all international events in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.The governing body decided to continue the suspension at its council meeting last week. The move comes even after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently eased its restrictions on Russian athletes ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and recommended that other international sports federations take a similar approach. The Kremlin called the IOC’s decision an “important step”.The Russian Athletics Federation said in a statement that the continued suspension unfairly affects its athletes.“Russian Athletics notes that World Athletics’ decision affects the fundamental interests of athletics in Russia and restricts the right of Russian athletes to compete on the grounds that Russian Athletics considers it discriminatory.“Russian athletics continues to take all available legal measures to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”CAS has not yet confirmed whether it has officially registered the case, AP reported.Last week, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the governing body discussed the possibility of creating a “conditional pathway back to international competition” for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but ultimately decided against it.“We have presented the board with options to consider in this matter, however the original decision remains on sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions without any tangible movement towards peaceful negotiations,” he said.Russia has not competed under its own flag at the World Athletics Championships since 2015, when its federation was suspended due to a widespread doping scandal.Although a system allowing Russian athletes to compete as neutrals was introduced later, it was withdrawn in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics lifted the original doping-related suspension in 2023.No Russian athletes competed in athletics at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as qualification for athletics was controlled by World Athletics, despite the IOC allowing neutral athletes to compete in several other sports.