— Published January 14, 2025

Russian Athletics Awaits Sebastian Coe's Departure

Athletics

Russian sport is taking its time. While some federations are holding out hope for a return of Russia to the international scene, for example in ice hockey, others are clearly more firm. This is the case of athletics. Hence the Pyotr Fradkov's frustration, president of the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF), who spoke to TASS about the issue. "I don't think it's realistic to negotiate our return with (Sebastian) Coe, he said, referring to the head of World Athletics, who is running for the IOC presidency. I think we will have to wait until someone else take charge (the federation), if and when it happens. We have to agree, one way or another, we have to move in this direction. We can't stay away forever, that's not fair." Sebastian Coe had categorically opposed the presence of Russians and Belarusians, even under a neutral banner, at the Paris 2024 Games.