The All-Russia Athletics Federation said on Thursday it submitted a petition with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to strike down over four years of sanctions by World Athletics that have barred its athletes from global competitions.
The move comes a week after World Athletics announced that it would extend its ongoing ban that also includes Belarus which stems from the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
According to a statement released through Russian state media, the country’s track and field federation said it has now taken the matter to the CAS with the believe that the top court in sports can push for its reintegration on behalf of its athletes.
“Experienced international lawyers specializing in sports law, including within the Court of Arbitration for Sport, have been involved in representing RusAF during the arbitration process,” The RusAF said in its statement. “The lawsuit was filed within the five-day period stipulated by the Constitution of World Athletics and it meets all procedural requirements,”
The CAS is located in Lausanne, Switzerland and regarded as the highest judicial authority for resolving sports-related disputes internationally. It routinely hears cases on doping, sanctions, contract disputes and appeals.
World Athletics has been firm in preventing Russian and Belarusian athletes from taking part in any of its sanctioned events. At its latest council meeting early this month, the decision to extend the ban was based solely on a mission to “protect the integrity” of competition.
“The Council and the Working Group on the status of Russians/Belarusians in International Competitions and Events have been consequential and methodical in reviewing the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus and in identifying a conditional pathway back into international competition.” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. “We presented options for the Council to consider on this matter, however, the original decision remains on the sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions, with no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialized.”
Talk of easing restrictions on Russia and Belarus has been raised within World Athletics several times, particularly in 2023 and 2025 and again in March. The initial sanction was issued in March 2022, just weeks after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Belarus was also included in the ban because some of the military action originated from strategic locations within its borders.
Other sporting governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, also imposed similar restrictions but have revised their stance in more than four years since the conflict in Ukraine. In May, the IOC proposed lifting sanctions on Belarus and on Tuesday nearly three years of constraints against Russia were pulled back, opening the door for the Russian Olympic Committee to get back to the global competition stage.
“The decision was taken following a thorough analysis by the IOC’s legal affairs commission, considering that the ROC no longer includes as its members any regional sports organizations in territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” the IOC said in a statement. “In addition, the ROC confirmed that it does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories. The IOC executive board will continue to closely monitor the situation relating to any ROC activities in those territories, and reserves the right to take any further measures if deemed necessary.”
Some athletes from Russia and Belarus were able to compete at both of the most recent Olympics with only 32 approved athletes from both nations at the 2024 Paris Games and 20 total athletes at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. All of the athletes were permitted under neutral status, with no insignias, logos, flags or anthems displayed and neither country was allowed to participate in team sports.
Both nations can technically now field delegations that would bring them closer to competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The path back into World Athletics events has been far more challenging and the CAS could be Russia’s true chance at putting its athletes alongside the top track and field talents.
“It should be pointed out that the decision of World Athletics affects the fundamental interests of Russian athletics and restricts the rights of Russian athletes to participate in competitions on a discriminatory basis” The RusAF also noted. “The RusAF continues resorting to all available legal tools in order to protect the interests of its national athletes.”
