European Aquatics Allows Junior Athletes from Russia, Belarus to Resume Competion

European Aquatics has voted to allow Russian and Belarussian junior athletes to compete in all aquatics disciplines going forward except for water polo. The EA Bureau voted on April 24 and the decision is effective immediately.

The participation is not a carte blanche reinstatement, however, as it comes with several stipulations:

• Athletes can be entered for individual events but will not be eligible for relays in swimming and open water competition or team events in artistic swimming and diving.
• Competitors will be considered as neutral athletes on entry and results sheets.
• Delegations from Russia or Belarus will not be able to display national names, flags or distinctive colours on any competition, training or leisure apparel.
• No national flags or anthems will be played during award ceremonies.

“The decision has been taken in the interests of young athletes, who are not responsible for political actions,” European Aquatics said in a statement.

The reinstatement applies, among other things, to the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje from July 20-26, 2025.

European Aquatics, then LEN, first barred Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing in March 2022 shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus. They have reaffirmed that stance on several occasions, including when World Aquatics softened their approach by allowing some athletes from these countries to resume competition. Russia sent a large team to the World Short Course Swimming Championships in December and are expected to do so at the long course World Championships this summer in Singapore as well.

Both Ukraine and Russia are members of European Aquatics

At one point, there was a proposal for Russia to switch its allegiance to the Asian Aquatics Federation (AAF), hoping for a friendlier reception than Europe, where leaders harbor concerns that Russia’s expansion might not stop at Ukraine’s western borders.

In 2024, the CAS upheld an Olympic ban on Russia on the basis of Russia annexing Ukrainian sporting organizations. While European Aquatics was not a party to those hearings, the presumption is that they could use the same reasoning to uphold their own ban.

SwimSwam has asked European Aquatics to clarify if the new regulations allows junior-aged Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete in only junior competitions or if they are allowed to compete in senior competitions as well, but did not immediately receive a response. A Russian press release seems to indicate that the decision allows “Russian athletes to participate in junior competitions.”

“The decision of European Aquatics to admit juniors to the European Championships is the result of our consistent work to strengthen the position of water sports in the international arena,” said Dmitry Mazepin, president of the Russian Water Sports Federation. “I am convinced that our athletes will worthily represent the country at the competitions. I express my gratitude to the management of European Aquatics for this important step forward and the opportunities provided to Russian athletes, and with all my heart I wish our young talents good luck in future competitions!”

The fighting, now more than three years deep since the large scale 2022 invasion, has led to an estimated 1.3 million+ killed or injured, including at least 12,700 Ukrainian civilians.