MOSCOW, Mar 8 The Bureau of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) adopted a new charter organization, according to which Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials may not be allowed to compete. Earlier, in the light of the situation in Ukraine, FINA allowed the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions under the auspices of the organization in a neutral status.
"FINA could potentially prohibit athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus from attending any upcoming events if their presence endangers the safety and well-being of the athletes or endangers the conduct of the competition. FINA will now carefully review all events on the calendar before making any decision to remove athletes or teams from participating in them,» the FINA website said in a statement.
The organization has also committed to expanding cooperation with the International Testing Agency (ITA) to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to continue out-of-competition anti-doping controls in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.