IBU Congress to exclude Russian athlete reinstatement from September agenda

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. The Congress of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) will not consider the issue of reinstating Russian athletes at its session in September, the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a decision in July to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and also recommended lifting restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in all international tournaments.

"The issue of admitting Russian biathletes will not be considered at the Congress, which opens in a month in Berchtesgaden, Germany," the statement reads. Ahead of the Congress, the RBU turned to the IBU Executive Committee asking to include on the Congress agenda issues related to the return of our athletes to international competitions and the full-fledged reinstatement of the RBU’s membership status."

However, just like two years ago, these issues are not on the agenda of the Congress session.

On December 10, 2025, the RBU filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland demanding that the suspension of Russian athletes, which had been in effect since spring 2022, be lifted.

Last month, IBU President Olle Dahlin announced to TASS that the International Biathlon Union’s stance regarding the suspension of Russian athletes remained unchanged despite updated recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee.

The IBU Congress will be held on September 17-20 in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

IOC previously-imposed sanctions against Russia, Belarus

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.