Russian athletes appeal to UN and Olympic bodies over continued international exclusion

Monday 14 September 2026 - 16:05

By: Azzat Manal

Russian athletes appeal to UN and Olympic bodies over continued international exclusion

Seventeen prominent Russian track and field athletes have appealed to the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Athletics, calling for the restrictions preventing them from competing internationally to be lifted.

The initiative was announced by Russian pole vault champion Polina Knoroz, a two-time national champion, who said that 17 leading Russian athletes had signed the appeal. The athletes are seeking equal access to international competitions and arguing that individual competitors should not be excluded from global sport because of their nationality.

In their message, the athletes said they had been denied the opportunity to pursue their sporting ambitions for years and expressed a desire to return to international competition, improve their performances and challenge world records.

The appeal comes amid an ongoing dispute between Russian sports authorities and World Athletics over the participation of Russian athletes in international events. World Athletics extended its restrictions on Russian athletes in July, maintaining measures introduced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The international athletics governing body has defended the restrictions as necessary to protect the integrity and fairness of competitions. Its president, Sebastian Coe, has repeatedly argued that decisions concerning Russian participation must take into account the broader sporting and geopolitical environment.

Russian athletes and officials, however, have continued to challenge the measures, maintaining that competitors who have not personally been involved in political decisions should not be punished through exclusion from international sport.

The Russian Athletics Federation has appealed the restrictions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), describing the measures as unfair and seeking a change in the policy governing the participation of Russian athletes.

The latest appeal gained additional attention after Coe recently said that the issue of Russian athletes' participation “must be resolved”, while making clear that World Athletics' existing position had not changed. His comments have raised expectations among some Russian athletes that the debate could eventually lead to a review of the current restrictions.

The dispute reflects a wider debate within international sport over how to balance political sanctions with the principle of individual participation. Since 2022, international sports federations have adopted different approaches toward Russian and Belarusian competitors, with some allowing athletes to participate under neutral status and strict conditions, while others have maintained broader exclusions.

For Russian track and field athletes, the restrictions have had significant consequences, particularly because athletics is one of the sports where access to international championships is essential for world rankings, qualification opportunities and major career milestones.

The athletes' appeal to international institutions therefore seeks to shift the discussion toward individual rights and equal treatment. They are asking international sports authorities to distinguish between athletes and government policy and to create a pathway that would allow eligible competitors to return to global events.

Whether the appeal will influence World Athletics remains uncertain. The organisation continues to face pressure from different sides of the international sporting community, while the broader debate over Russian participation remains closely linked to developments surrounding the war in Ukraine.

The case is likely to remain an important test for international sport as governing bodies consider how long current restrictions should remain in place and under what conditions Russian athletes could potentially return to major competitions.