Russian Athletics has lodged a new claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport challenging sanctions imposed by World Athletics, the federation confirmed, as it seeks to restore Russian athletes' participation in international competition. The filing was announced on Monday and targets restrictions Russian Athletics says infringe its rights and prevent it from fully representing Russian athletes on the international stage.
Russian athletes have been excluded from World Athletics-sanctioned international competition since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. World Athletics has maintained the sanctions, citing the war and broader concerns about the integrity of international sport.
Russian Athletics contends the measures have also barred it from World Athletics decision-making processes, including council meetings and votes, and have prevented Russian officials and specialists from taking part in coaching conferences, seminars and professional development programmes.
Boris Yaryshevskiy, chief executive director of Russian Athletics, described the sanctions as without precedent among sports federations, saying no comparable body faces restrictions of this severity. He said the measures also curb athletics' growth in Russia — young competitors in particular and stop the federation representing the sport on the world stage.
Russian Athletics said it would continue pursuing legal action aimed at lifting the sanctions and was already preparing further steps, having retained international sports lawyers experienced in CAS proceedings to represent it in the arbitration.
World Athletics, responding to the new filing, said it would strenuously defend its position, referencing its stance in relation to Russian Athletics' earlier request for CAS arbitration.
This latest claim follows a separate appeal Russian Athletics lodged on July 9, challenging a World Athletics Council decision to extend the suspension of Russian athletes from international competition. That council decision reaffirmed the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes on July 3.
The two proceedings now run in parallel before CAS, which is based in Lausanne and serves as sport's highest arbitration body for disputes involving athletes, federations and governing organisations.
World Athletics has been among the more restrictive international federations in its approach to Russia since 2022. While some sports have permitted limited participation by Russian athletes competing as neutrals, athletics has continued to exclude competitors from Russia and Belarus from international events entirely.
With two separate CAS challenges now pending against World Athletics' sanctions regime and no arbitration outcome yet reported, the governance and compliance status of Russian Athletics' international standing remains unresolved.
Any ruling on either claim would determine whether the federation regains access to World Athletics' decision-making structures and professional development channels, or whether the current exclusion and the parallel legal proceedings sustaining it — continues without a fixed resolution date.
