Photo via BBC Sport

World Athletics' stance on Russian athletes 'won't change' - Coe

World Athletics head Sebastian Coe reaffirmed that the organization will maintain its ban on competitors from Russia and Belarus, a policy enacted following the February 2022 military assault on Ukraine. The Russian Athletics Federation has lodged a formal appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing that the exclusion curtails its legal entitlements and stops it from championing its competitors abroad.

Speaking in Budapest during the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, the 69-year-old double Olympic gold medalist stated he will participate directly in the legal proceedings, asserting that the federation's viewpoint is grounded strictly in competitive fairness rather than nationality or statecraft. However, Russian athletics executive director Boris Yaryshevsky told news agency TASS that the British official is acting on an individual grievance rather than representing the collective stance of the sport's global body.

A favorable judgment from the arbitration panel could pave the way for competitors from both excluded nations to feature at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. This unyielding viewpoint leaves track and field isolated compared to the International Olympic Committee, which provisionally revoked Russia's suspension in July, as well as worldwide federations for boxing, gymnastics, and aquatics that lifted their respective bans this year.