The World Athletics Council decided not to lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes, the press service of the Belarusian Athletics Federation
reported
.
Павялічыць
Sebastian Coe
Recently, the International Olympic Committee revoked its recommendations on restrictions against Belarusian athletes, which were introduced due to the Lukashenka regime’s complicity in Russia’s unleashing of a full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. Following this, the Belarusian Athletics Federation sent an appeal requesting an extraordinary meeting of the World Athletics Council.
The Belarusian side requested consideration of the issue of admitting athletes to international tournaments, including the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 2026 World Junior Championships in Eugene.
In response, World Athletics head Sebastian Coe stated that the organization’s decision had originally differed from the sanctions imposed by the IOC in 2022.
“World Athletics chose a different approach. The Council considered this matter independently, agreed on sanctions, and made the reasons for that decision public at the time, including in writing to you,” Coe noted.
According to him, many international federations are indeed reviewing their restrictions following the IOC, but World Athletics decided to maintain its own position.
The Belarusian Athletics Federation stated that it intends to continue fighting for the return of its athletes to the international arena.