GENEVA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- World Aquatics welcomed the International Olympic Committee's decision Wednesday to end its recommendations regarding the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions.
The IOC had introduced the recommendations after the start of Russia's conflict with Ukraine in 2022, leaving international federations to determine how and under what conditions Russian and Belarusian athletes could return to competition.
In a statement, the sport's governing body said it supported the IOC's announcement that its guidance on Russian athletes would no longer apply.
"We remain as determined as ever to ensure that water remains a place where we can be united in peaceful competition, and World Aquatics welcomes today's decision by the IOC," World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam said.
World Aquatics said that, together with the Aquatics Integrity Unit, it had shown over the past three years that international competition could be staged peacefully despite ongoing conflicts.
"Over the past three years, World Aquatics and the AQIU have successfully demonstrated that sporting competition can be conducted peacefully even in times of conflict," the organization said. ■
