International Swimming Federation allowed Russians to participate in competitions

Another major sports structure that allowed representatives of Russia and Belarus to participate in their competitions was the International Aquatics Federation (World Aquatics). True, this admission looks almost formal. The huge number and unprecedented rigidity of the criteria invented by World Aquatics indicate that, most likely, if the Russian team can compete in its tournaments again, it will be with an extremely truncated line-up.

The International Aquatics Federation, one of the largest sports organizations uniting several Olympic sports at once – swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, diving – announced the decision of its bureau, a key executive body, to cancel the suspension of the Russian and Belarusian national teams based on March recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They softened the “isolation” course, which was followed by almost the entire world sports establishment after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. As stated in World Aquatics statementthe decision was made after a survey among athletes performing under its auspices.

67% were in favor of the return of Russians and Belarusians in a neutral status, subject to the criteria previously developed by the federation.

World Aquatics President Hussein Al Musallam said the implementation of the IOC’s recommendations was driven by a sense of “responsibility to provide a competitive, fair and inclusive environment for every athlete” despite the “challenges” the federation faces on the “international stage”. According to him, she recognizes “the devotion and talent of athletes, regardless of their nationality.”

World Aquatics has added to the already long list of sports federations that have either returned or are preparing to return Russians to their competitions. But this is still a very special case. Absolutely all federations of the decision on the admission of Russian athletes provided a number of reservations complicating it. However, in the case of World Aquatics, their number and rigidity look simply unprecedented.

For example, it follows from the explanations of the federation that, in fact, some types of Russians controlled by it will still not wait. They state that they will be able to compete only in those genres in which “the result establishes the performance of one athlete.”

In other words, all team or pair disciplines are not available for Russians. Thus, not only water polo, but also, to a large extent, the most effective and successful sport for Russia in this century, will remain isolated. This is synchronized swimming.

It also has competitions for soloists, but they are not included in the Olympic program. It includes competitions of duets and groups. And in them in the current century, the dominance of Russia was absolute. Its athletes have won both gold medals at all six Summer Olympics since Sydney in 2000, usually winning by huge margins.

But at first glance, the largest layer supervised by World Aquatics – swimming – is almost completely open for the Russian team, with the exception of relay races. And, say, Russian sports leaders can count on getting into international competitions of two young phenomena – Kliment Kolesnikov, who specializes in backstroke, and Yevgenia Chikunova, a breaststroke. Kolesnikov at domestic competitions is systematically ahead of world leaders in absentia, such as the American Ryan Murphy, who won the 100m at the July World Championships in Japan. And Chikunova set a fantastic world record in the 200-meter race in the spring. The IOC has not yet decided on the format for the participation of the Russian team at the Olympics in Paris next year. But if she goes for it, both will be absolute favorites in their crown disciplines. But the thesis about the relative openness of navigation is extremely controversial.

Firstly, the federation warned that only one representative of both Russia and Belarus would be able to participate in competitions in any of its disciplines, which would already lead to a sharp reduction in the team’s application for the top tournament.

And secondly, the severity of the criteria invented by Word Aquatics makes the task of getting into such a tournament into an incredibly difficult test.

Among these criteria there are mandatory ones, written in the recommendations of the IOC. World Aquatics clarified that the athlete applying for return should not be bound by a contract with the “armed forces of Russia or Belarus” and “any other national security authority.” This item threatens dropping out, first of all, to athletes representing the sports societies of CSKA and Dynamo. In addition, the federation specifically prohibits support for a special military operation. This prohibition, according to the World Aquatics document, applies to all its forms – “verbal, non-verbal and written”, “explicit or implicit”, “public statements, including those made on social networks”, “participation in military demonstrations or events” and ” use of symbols” in support of the special operation. Last year, World Aquatics already disqualified for nine months the hero of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Evgeny Rylov, who won gold in the 100m and 200m backstroke, for going on stage in clothes with the letter Z as part of a rally-concert in honor of the next anniversary of the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Now Rylov, it seems, should not even dream of an early resumption of his career. But the federation’s new demands, which include “implicit” support, threaten to remove many athletes far from politics as well.

This is far from all.

World Aquatics has ruled that Russian and Belarusian swimmers wishing to return to its competition are required to comply with qualifying standards. But not anywhere, but “outside” the two states, in tournaments “approved” by the federation.

Plus, they will be subject to super-strict anti-doping regulations. In particular, it provides for an athlete to undergo four tests within 12 months before his admission, including at least one conducted by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on behalf of World Aquatics without the intervention of the national anti-doping authorities of Russia and Belarus. Against this background, the ban on the appearance of athletes during competitions in the mixed zone and communication with the press looks like a trifle.

There is nothing strange that Russian sports functionaries met the formal admission rather reservedly, if not skeptically. In a statement released by the All-Russian Swimming Federation (VFTU), it said that it “began to study the published criteria, many of which require further clarification,” and the information received will be discussed at the next meeting of the presidium of the organization. The WFTU clarifies that, “however, now we can say that there is no improvement in this situation”. Approximately the same dry was the reaction of the Russian Diving Federation.

But Kliment Kolesnikov spoke about the criteria of Word Aquatics in an interview “Match TV” extremely specific. In his opinion, “with such conditions” the performance of Russians in international tournaments is “impossible”: “It’s easier to say simply and clearly:“ No, you will not be allowed, ”than to do this, what they are doing now.”

Alexey Dospekhov