While Russia’s standing among several governing bodies, like the International Olympic Committee, has drastically improved in recent months, World Athletics has remained firm on keeping sanctions in place over the conflict in Ukraine.
The four years of bans by track and field’s top authority seemingly forced the nation’s athletics federation to appeal the matter with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, taking legal action in July.
But All-Russian Athletics Federation chief Boris Yaryshevsky is adamant that the continued penalties preventing his country’s athletes from competing globally at world championships or Diamond League events are a personal directive of World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.
In an extensive, and candid, interview with Russian state media that was released on Friday, Yaryshevsky, claimed that Coe’s “grudge” is the sole factor that stands in the way of a path being cleared for his nation to battle for titles and podium spots.
“What I want to say for sure — and this is also important — is that we’ve entered into a public discussion with the head of World Athletics,” Yaryshevsky said in remarks that were translated. “And just a week ago, he gave an interview or comment to a media outlet in which he said he would personally go to court to prove the validity of this decision.”
Shortly after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics was among the first governing bodies to ban the country from competition, along with Belarus, which was a site also used to launch some military action. The IOC, World Aquatics and other organizations would impose similar sanctions, but World Athletics has been unrelenting in keeping Russia at a distance as the best athletes in the sport compete for titles, set records and move forward without Yaryshevsky’s nation.
World Athletics claims that it has discussed readmitting Russia and Belarus on several occasions in 2023, 2025, this past March and most recently in July.
The governing body opted to keep the bans in place as a packed season of competition stormed ahead with no Russian participation.
“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,” Coe said regarding the move in July.
Yaryshevsky blames Coe’s unknown motives for being the blockade that has pushed RusAF to seek all options in court even as the wider sports community has shown a softened stance that seemingly separates athletes from politics — and war.
“Here, it’s clearly evident that he has something personal in mind,” Yaryshevsky said. “That is, he’s no longer speaking on behalf of World Athletics as a federation; he’s speaking on his own behalf, saying he’ll personally defend the case in court. These are public comments. And I believe this is simply his personal position. It’s not the position of World Athletics. We know; we’re communicating with various sports officials there. It appears that this is a personal grudge, the dissatisfaction of one individual, who is essentially standing in the way of Russian track and field athletes’ return to the world stage.”
RusAF filed a pair of lawsuits, one in July and last month, against World Athletics challenging the sanctions and pushing the issues to the highest court in sports with the CAS.
And while no dates for hearings with the CAS have been announced or scheduled, the matter will not come close to being resolved this year and will easily stretch into the 2027 season if the court proceeds with the appeal.
Yaryshevsky notes that his federation is armed with a team of lawyers and specialists who have defended other countries but also believes that Coe has an active hand in delaying the issue as his tenure as president of the governing body comes to an end in a year.
“So far, it looks like he’s doing everything he can to delay the decision,” Yaryshevsky said. “Because the World Athletics presidential election will actually be held in September 2027. And right now, based on our interactions with them regarding our legal proceedings, it seems they’re simply doing everything they can to delay the process. So, on the one hand, of course, the campaign has already begun, and new faces and figures have emerged.”
A new president at World Athletics could work in RusAF’s favor and mirror a similar path that saw Russia readmitted into the Olympic fold under new IOC president Kirsty Coventry, as her administration in May called for the country to be integrated into the competition cycle in time for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Yaryshevsky appeared optimistic about RusAF’s legal road ahead and also noted that Russia’s athlete pipeline in track and field alone remains robust, with around 130,000 professionals and youth currently in its system.
