It reserves its right to exclude them “if their assistance threatens the safety and well-being of the athletes or puts the competition at risk”
MADRID, 9 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Council of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) has ratified this Tuesday its decision that Russian and Belarusian swimmers participate as neutrals in international competitions, confirming itself as one of the few world federations that has not followed the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude them from all their tests.
“The FINA Council opposed a general sanction of all swimmers and technicians from Russia and Belarus and maintained its position that Russians and Belarusians will only be able to participate in FINA events as neutrals. This decision was supported by an overwhelming majority of the Committee of Athletes of FINA, which confirmed its opposition to the total ban on participation for Russian and Belarusian swimmers,” he told the body after meeting by videoconference.
However, the governing body of world swimming again denounced “the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, and warned that it would evaluate the case of each Russian or Belarusian swimmer separately. “The Council recognized that concerns about athlete safety and the viability of events could justify the exclusion of swimmers and teams in some circumstances.”
“A new statute was passed giving FINA the power to review the participation of swimmers and officials in FINA events on a case-by-case basis in emergency situations, such as the current war in Ukraine. With this legal basis now in place, FINA could potentially bar Russian and Belarusian swimmers and officials from attending any upcoming FINA event if their attendance threatens the safety and well-being of athletes or jeopardizes the conduct of competition,” it continued.
In this sense, he explained that he will “carefully” review all competitions before making any decision to suspend swimmers, and assured that they “will respect all athletes and their rights.”
On the other hand, it promised to increase its collaboration with the International Testing Agency (ITA) to ensure that the necessary measures are implemented to continue with out-of-competition anti-doping controls within Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.