MADRID, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced on Wednesday the ban on Russia and Belarus from participating in their competitions, including the Budapest World Cup, while it has withdrawn the organization of the Short Pool World Championships from the Russian Kazan and has opened a disciplinary procedure to the swimmer Evgeny Rylov due to an alleged public support for the war.
Initially, on March 8, the body decided to allow athletes from these two countries to compete as neutrals after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but finally, due to pressure from other countries such as Germany and Switzerland and their possible boycott of World Championships, decided to exclude them from any event.
In addition, FINA also decided to eliminate any competition held in Russia from the calendar, including the Short Course World Cup that Kazan was going to host at the end of the year. “The scheduled dates of December 17-22, 2022 will remain. FINA is currently in discussions with potential hosts to take over the event,” he said.
On the other hand, the Executive Committee of the federation also confirmed that it has opened a disciplinary procedure against the Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov, Olympic champion of 100 and 200 backstroke, “for a possible violation” of its rules for his alleged participation “in a rally for war at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow”.
“FINA stands by its strongest condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and also wishes to reiterate its commitment to support the Federation of Swimming, Diving and Artistic Swimming of Ukraine as they prepare for the upcoming competitions,” the body added.