Russian Athletes Petition to End World Athletics Ban
Russian track and field athletes have appealed to international sports and human rights bodies to lift World Athletics' ban on their participation, saying more than four years of exclusion has cost a generation of careers.
Russian athletes sent an open letter dated Sept. 10 to the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission, the IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, seeking help to end World Athletics' ban on their participation in international competitions.
According to the letter, seen by Reuters, the athletes describe athletics as central to their lives and argue that four years represents a critical stretch of any sporting career, calling the impact of the prolonged exclusion devastating.
The World Athletics Council reaffirmed on July 3 its decision to keep Russian and Belarusian athletes barred from international competition, extending sanctions first put in place after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian Athletics filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on July 9, followed by an additional appeal last month.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe reiterated on Sunday, speaking at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, that the federation's position remains unchanged ahead of the arbitration proceedings, framing the issue as one of competitive integrity rather than politics or nationality. He acknowledged, however, that restoring full global participation remains the sport's ultimate goal.
The athletes argue the ban amounts to collective punishment and is inconsistent with the approach of other international federations, many of which have gradually allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under neutral status. The IOC provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee on July 8, a move seen as a step toward reintegration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The letter states that athletics remains one of the few sports maintaining a complete exclusion of Russian athletes. The athletes also requested on July 17 to be allowed to participate in the CAS appeal proceedings but have not yet received a response, saying the prolonged uncertainty is taking a serious personal toll.
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