Russian and Belarusian triathletes to return under neutral flag
World Triathlon has stated it will follow IOC guidelines to relax the ban imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Russian and Belarusian triathletes could soon return to competition as neutral athletes after World Triathlon agreed to follow the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendation to lift their suspension.
The ban has been in place since March last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with major triathlon organisations – including Ironman – following the international governing body’s lead by prohibiting professional athletes from Russia and Belarus competing.
What is World Triathlon’s position on Russian athletes?
That position has now softened with a spokesperson for World Triathlon saying: “World Triathlon supports the development of a pathway for independent neutral individual athletes and officials with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate in our sports.
“World Triathlon will – in consultation with the IOC and ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) – work towards developing the necessary independent review processes to allow and plan for the return of these individuals to our competitions and events.”
If the IOC’s recommendations are followed to the letter it will mean that teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport cannot take part. This would rule out a neutral quartet in team mixed relay events.
There will also continue to be no international sports events organised by World Triathlon in Russia or Belarus. Following the initial ban, triathlon events in Russia were quickly cancelled last year, including Challenge Moscow in June and Ironman 70.3 St. Petersburg in July.
The World Triathlon statement added: “The Executive Board reaffirms its solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the ongoing war with Russia, and that the independence of any athlete or official was an absolute condition of their returning to a World Triathlon event.”
Are Ukrainian athletes allowed to compete in triathlon?
While the changing mood aligns with the recent high-profile decision by Wimbledon to allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to compete at this year’s championships, it is not a decision that will be popular with all parties.
This particularly includes the Ukrainian government, which has taken a decision to bar Ukrainian athletes from taking part in qualifying events for the Olympic Games in Paris if they face competition from athletes with a Russian passport.
The IOC maintains it is not up to governments to decide which athletes can participate in which international competitions.
No final decisions have yet been made for Paris 2024, with rulings on athletes’ involvement in the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games not necessarily being aligned.
The International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) current suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions will be reassessed in September.
Tim Heming’s comments:
“World Triathlon must feel as if it is once again caught between a rock and a hard place with this decision.
“While the IOC is on record in saying that international sports must make their own choices, they have a clear and very obvious sway on how embedded Olympic sports such as triathlon react.
“It’s worth noting that sports such as football, tennis and ice hockey – where large numbers of Russian and Belarusian athletes compete – haven’t stopped their participation. Cited by IOC president Thomas Bach as an example of how it can be implemented successfully.
“While the detail of the review process to compete as neutrals has not yet been established, it is likely that a Russian or Belarussian athlete will be allowed to take part provided they do not publicly support Russia’s offensive in Ukraine nor have close ties to the military or state bodies.
“It will stop short of the athlete having to denounce the invasion for safety issues.
“What practical difference will it make? In the short term probably not too much. While wary of conflating separate issues, even before the ban, Russian triathletes had not been prominent performers at the highest level for some time.
“They had also been bedevilled with doping controversy including two of their most decorated male triathletes, Igor Polyanskiy [his brother Dmitry is pictured above, winning the 2012 Tongyeong World Cup] and Alexander Bryukhankov, testing positive for the presence of endurance-enhancing drug erythropoietin (EPO) in 2021, and being handed a three-year ban from competition.”
Top image credit: Arnold Lim/ITU via Getty Images
Tim Heming
Freelance triathlon journalist 
