International Skating & Volleyball Federations Ban Russian Athletes From Competition

Russian athletes are yet again facing consequences for their country’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia was banned Tuesday from competing in international ice-skating events.

The move comes one day after Russian athletes were disqualified from soccer and hockey competition, the latter of which is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s favorite sport.

The International Skating Union (ISU) said that no athletes from Russia or Belarus “shall be invited or allowed to participate” in events until further notice.

“The ISU Council reiterates its solidarity with all those affected by the conflict in Ukraine and our thoughts are with the entire Ukrainian people and country,” the ISU said in a statement.

Belarus has been an ally of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

The world figure skating championships are scheduled for later this month in France, and the decision mean Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova and 15-year-old teammate Kamila Valieva—the center of an ongoing doping dispute at the Winter Olympics—will be excluded from the competition.

Also, the International Volleyball Federation said it has stripped Russia of hosting the men’s world championships in August and September.

“It would be impossible to prepare and stage the World Championships in Russia due to the war in Ukraine,” the board said.

The sport of swimming, on the other hand, has eschewed the recommendation to ban Russians. FINA, the sport’s governing body, said Tuesday it’ll allow Russian and Belarusian swimmers to take part “as neutrals, competing under the FINA flag and with the FINA anthem.”

FINA’s website still lists Russia as hosting December’s world short-course championships. The swimming body did, however, say it had withdrawn a federation honor awarded to Putin in 2014.

The International Ski Federation followed in FINA’s footsteps, but the Norwegian Ski Federation said Tuesday it would block Russians from competing in upcoming World Cup events in its country.

“We had hoped that FIS would reach the same conclusion on behalf of all ski nations, but now the Norwegian Ski Federation can no longer wait. The executive board has therefore today decided to notify FIS that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming events in Norway,” Norwegian Ski Federation president Erik Roste said.

Article by Andrew Corselli