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World Aquatics has launched an investigation following SwimSwam’s report on Thursday that Russian swimmers wore their national colors at a competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Images showed Russian swimmers wearing national uniforms at medal ceremonies and press conferences during the “Swim Wars” meet held in the city of Banja Luka from April 27-28, both violations of World Aquatics’ restrictions on Russian and Belarusian participation.
The restrictions needed to be enforced because Bosnia and Herzegovina is a World Aquatics member.
The World Aquatics Integrity Unit issued a statement to SwimSwam on Friday, announcing they’ve opened an investigation and that “strong action” will be taken against any parties found to have broken the rules.
World Aquatics Statement:
“The World Aquatics Integrity Unit has seen the images from the event in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There appears to have been a clear breach of the rules and an investigation has immediately been opened. Strong action will be taken against any responsible parties who are found to have broken the rules.”
At least three of World Aquatics’ criteria for Russian and Belarusian participation that appear to have been breached include:
- Uniforms must be plain white and approved by World Aquatics
- The appearance of any emblems, names, acronyms, or colors linked to Russia or Belarus are prohibited
- Russian and Belarusian athletes will be prohibited from going through the mixed zone and doing any interviews with the media
Russian and Belarusian swimmers have been under sanction from World Aquatics dating back to March 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In September 2023, World Aquatics approved Russian and Belarusian participation as individual, neutral athletes under a strict set of criteria, which included some of the violations Russian swimmers committed in Banja Luka (see full criteria here).
World Aquatics Criteria For Russian & Belarusian Athletes
- Compliance with all World Aquatics Regulations
- No contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency
- No support for the war in Ukraine Any form of verbal, non-verbal or written expression, explicit or implicit, at any time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in particular public statements, including those made in social media, participation in pro-war demonstrations or events, and the wearing of any symbol in support of the war in Ukraine, for example the “Z” symbol, are considered to be acts of support for the war in Ukraine.
- Compliance with the Anti-Doping requirements set out below in Annex 1
- Qualifying times for World Aquatics events must be achieved outside of Russia and Belarus
- No Russian or Belarusian flags displayed at events (World Aquatics flag if necessary)
- No Russian or Belarusian anthems played at events (World Aquatics anthem if necessary)
- Uniforms must be plain white and approved by World Aquatics
- The appearance of any emblems, names, acronyms, or colors linked to Russia or Belarus are prohibited
- Russian and Belarusian athletes will be prohibited from going through the mixed zone and doing any interviews with the media
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