World Athletics maintains the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians

The World Athletics Council, meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, decided to maintain the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials, and support staff from international competitions, a ban in place since 2022. Several options for updating the sanctions were presented but rejected, with President Sebastian Coe citing a lack of concrete progress toward peace negotiations as the reason for keeping the measures in place. The decision is a significant blow for both nations, coming one year before the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and ahead of qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.