The list is getting longer. In the wake of the UCI, a new international body of a summer Olympic sport has come out in favour of a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions. The International Golf Federation (IGF) in turn decided to follow the recommendation of the IOC Executive Board and lift their suspension. “The Council has reviewed the recently published IOC recommendations to international federations and organisers of international sporting events on the participation of athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports in international competitions, and has decided the following for IGF events: athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports must compete only as neutral individual athletes,” says its statement. These neutral athletes, like all other participants, must comply with all applicable anti-doping requirements as defined in the IGF Anti-Doping Rules. No flags, anthems, colours or other identification of these countries shall be displayed at any sporting event or meeting, including the entire venue.” The body chaired by Sweden’s Annika Sörenstam also states, again in line with the IOC’s recommendations, that players “under contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies” may not compete. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, Russia was not represented in the golf competition.
