BURSTRussian and Belarusian climbers have been suspended from participation in World Climbing (formerly IFSC) events since March 2022. At their most recent meeting, which took place on February 10 and 11 in Torino, Italy, the World Climbing Executive Board have lifted the suspension of the Russian and Belarusian Federations.
While the two Federations have been reinstated, their athletes may only participate under the Neutral Athletes Policy and the two countries are not allowed to hold any international events. World Climbing follows the conditions of neutral participation as outlined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as the World Championships and Olympic qualifier events are directly tied to participation in the Olympic Games.
Neutral athletes have a designation of AIN, an acronym for Athletes Individuels Neutres, which is French for “Individual Neutral Athletes.” The AIN designation is exclusively for Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in the Olympic Games. The IOC outlined the following in their participation principles for the Paris Summer Games:
“Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) with a Russian or Belarusian passport and their support personnel may take part in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 only in an individual and neutral capacity, and not in any way as representatives of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, or any other organisation in their country, including their National Olympic Committee (NOC) or National Federation (NF).
“Only Individual Neutral Athletes who have fulfilled the specific eligibility and sporting qualification criteria set by their [International Federation] can be considered by the IOC for entry into the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Only those Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who have not acted against the peace mission of the Olympic Movement by actively supporting the war in Ukraine may be invited to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In line with this principle, Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”
Neutral athletes cannot engage in conduct inconsistent with their neutral status. That means no national flag, anthem, or team uniform. In the results, neutral athletes will be listed with AIN as the country code, and they cannot earn National Team World Ranking Points.
The next World Climbing General Assembly takes place in Riyadh in April 2026. According to World Climbing, it will “include a dedicated session to address the topic of the role of sport and International Federations in the broader geopolitical context.”
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