The fate of their federation could be sealed for good this Thursday, July 30 by the World Athletics Council, but Russian athletes are not giving up. Not yet. Three of them, among the most successful of their generation, are stepping up initiatives to try to save their careers. High jumper Mariya Lasitskene, pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova, and hurdler Sergey Shubenkov (photo above) co-signed an open letter to the World Athletics Athletes' Commission, in particular to its president, pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie. They explain that they do not want to pay for the mistakes and errors of their leaders. They point out that they have already been forced to give up the 2020 indoor season. Finally, they repeat that they do not want to find themselves in the same situation when the summer season starts, in the coming weeks, and then again next year. at the time of the Tokyo Games. At this stage of the process, World Athletics has frozen all requests from Russian athletes for neutrality status to participate in international competitions this year. Their presence next year at the Tokyo Games also remains very compromised.
