ATHLETICS: Russia's exile has lowered standards, federation chief says

More than a decade after Russia's athletics exile began, the country's athletes are losing motivation and falling behind international rivals, federation chief Boris Yaryshevsky said.

Russia's isolation from international sport began with athletics, whose governing body suspended the federation in 2015 after revelations of state-sponsored doping. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to sports bodies across the world barring Russian teams and athletes from international competition.

Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee this month, clearing the way for a return to the fold before the 2028 Los Angeles Games, World Athletics has reaffirmed the ban it imposed in 2022.

"Of course, the lack of competition and the absence of opportunities to take part in events of this kind have, in some cases, reduced motivation and, in others, left athletes stuck at the same level, with performances no longer improving," Yaryshevsky told Reuters at last week's National Athletics Championships.

"So overall, there has naturally been a general level decline."

SANCTIONS REMAIN

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said this month that the sanctions remained to protect the integrity and fairness of competitions with "no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialised".

Yaryshevsky remained upbeat, however, on Russia's chances of competing in athletics at Los Angeles.

"I assess our chances with confidence. I believe that, as a federation, we are doing a great deal to ensure that our athletes have the opportunity to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics," he said.

"If we are talking about our national team and our senior athletes, six of them currently rank first in the world in their respective disciplines. So I am confident that these athletes would have delivered top results and brought medals to Russia."

Russia last competed at an Olympics under its own flag at the 2016 Rio Games, although track and field athletes were still banned by the IAAF following the doping revelations.

Defending the IOC's provisional lifting of the suspension on Russians competing at the Olympics, President Kirsty Coventry said this month: "We don't want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their government."

In response, nine European Union nations called on Brussels to stop funding sports bodies that have re-admitted Russian and Belarusian athletes.

-Writing by Martyn Herman in London, editing by Ed Osmond/Reuters