The prolonged isolation from the rest of the international sports movement since the start of the conflict in Ukraine does not yet seem to be affecting the performance of Russian athletes. Proof of this was provided last month at the 2023 International University Sports Festival, held from August 19 to 31 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The multi-sport competition, organized on Russia’s initiative, brought together member countries of the BRICS (Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa), the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Russian students took home 481 medals, 144 of them gold. They largely dominated the ranking of nations, with all other participating countries sharing the competition’s 211 other medals. The International University Sports Festival featured 193 medal sessions in 14 sports or disciplines. Russia has announced the organization next year of the first BRICS Games. They are scheduled to take place in June 2024 in Kazan.
