Rowing Championship. Illustrative photo.
Lausanne – The International Rowing Federation has decided to allow athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to compete under neutral status at September's World Championships in Belgrade, which will be the main qualification for the Olympic Games. She informed about it on her website after the meeting of the executive committee.
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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, sanctions in the sports field have been in force for both countries, but at the end of March this year the International Olympic Committee allowed the world federations to cancel them if specific conditions were met. For example, athletes are not allowed to support war, be members of the army and also have to comply with anti-doping rules.
Sports federations behaved differently. Today, the rowing competition (FISA) joined, for example, cycling, canoeing, judo and fencing and allowed Russians and Belarusians to start. But only on a limited basis and in three disciplines: the sculls and the coxless sculls, which belong to the Olympic programme, and also the lightweight sculls.
“No one should be discriminated against because of their passport. World Rowing believes in the importance sport as a mechanism to build bridges between people, even when their governments are in conflict,” said FISA President Jean-Christophe Rolland.
The rowers will have the world championships in Belgrade from September 3 to 10. The decision also applies to the WC under 23 and under 19 years.
