Russian and Belarusian track and field athletes are ‘unlikely’ to be allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics, said Sebastian Coe, speaking after being elected World Athletics President for a third term.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics currently bans athletes of both nations from competing in its events, even under neutral flags.
Its stance is contrary to that of the International Olympics Committee, which has recommended athletes be allowed to compete under neutral flags, but the authority to enforce bans lies with the international governing bodies of individual sports.
Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medallist who has led World Athletics since 2015, said:
“The new council, and I’m not going to speak for them in advance, but I would be very if there is any shift in that position.”
“I don’t have a crystal ball, I follow world events in the same way that you all do. We have risk committees, we have working groups that will always be wanting to be across that and what might the circumstances look like if there’s any shift in the situation but I have to say that looks unlikely at the moment with where we are with events in Ukraine.”