Russia, Belarus Eligible To Host World Aquatics Events Again With Neutral Status Lifted

Following Monday’s announcement that Russia and Belarus have regained the ability to wear their national colors in international competition, World Aquatics has confirmed that both countries have restored full membership rights.

That means that Russia and Belarus are both eligible to host World Aquatics events again, though the organization told SwimSwam that no discussions regarding a future event in either country have taken place.

With full membership restored, effective on April 13, Russia and Belarus can also return to taking part in the World Aquatics’ governance and competitive structure, including voting at Congress and nominating officials.

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia hosted multiple major international aquatics events, including the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and the 2021 European Short Course Championships, which were both in Kazan.

The 2022 World Junior Swimming Championships were originally scheduled to be held in Kazan, but were moved to Melbourne following the invasion in February 2022.

Moscow, Kazan and Saint Petersburg have all hosted stops of the World Aquatics World Cup as well, most recently in Kazan in 2021.

BACKGROUND

In February, World Aquatics removed the neutrality restrictions on junior athletes from the two nations, allowing them to wear their national symbols and flags in competition and have their national anthem played.

Now, those rules will apply to all aquatic athletes from Russia and Belarus, ending a four-year saga that started in March 2022 when Russians and Belarusians were barred from international competition following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In September 2023, World Aquatics opened the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as individual neutrals.

Three Belarusian swimmers and one Russian compete at the 2024 Olympics as neutral athletes. At the 2024 Short Course World Championships, Belarusians and Russians were permitted to compete in team events for the first time, fielding relays while competing under Neutral Athletes A (Belarus) and Neutral Athletes B (Russia).

World Aquatics said that Russian and Belarusian athletes will need to pass at least four successive anti-doping tests and have background checks completed by the Integrity Unit (AQIU) before being cleared to compete.