Russia’s track and field federation has launched an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to overturn a World Athletics ruling that continues to suspend its athletes from international events due to the war in Ukraine.

World Athletics initially excluded all Russian and Belarusian athletes from its international events in March 2022, shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The suspension was reaffirmed at a council meeting last week.

This contrasts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which recently eased its own restrictions on Russia ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – a move the Kremlin hailed as an “important step” – and recommended other sports bodies do the same.

In a statement, the Russian track federation, known as Russian Athletics, asserted that World Athletics’ decision “affects the fundamental interests of athletics in Russia and restricts Russian athletes’ right to compete, on grounds that Russian Athletics considers discriminatory.” The federation added that it “continues to pursue all available legal measures to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”

World Athletics has vowed to defend the case.

“We take note of the Russian athletics federation’s appeal to CAS, and we will be strenuously defending our position,” it stated. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said last week his organisation discussed options for “a conditional pathway back into international competition” for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but opted against.

He explained: “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.”

Russia has not competed under its own flag at a world athletics championships since 2015, when the Russian track federation was suspended over widespread doping. A programme allowing its athletes to compete under a neutral flag was ended in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics’ original doping suspension was lifted in 2023.

Consequently, no Russians competed in Olympic athletics at the 2024 Paris Games, as the qualification system is overseen by World Athletics, even though the IOC allowed neutral athletes in other sports.

CAS did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the case has been officially registered.