July 9 (Reuters) - The International Biathlon Union will maintain its ban on Russian athletes, the governing body said after the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The decision underscores the likelihood of a fragmented return for Russian athletes to international sport, with individual federations wielding independent bans over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"The IBU has taken note of the IOC's decision regarding its recommendations to International Federations on Russian athletes' participation in international competitions," the biathlon governing body said in a statement to Reuters, adding that its position remains unchanged and the IBU Congress decision of 2022 is still in place.
The IBU initially imposed sanctions after the invasion started, suspending the Russian and Belarusian national federations and barring their athletes from elite competitions.
Tuesday's IOC executive board decision provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, which was imposed in October 2023 after the ROC recognised regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
While IOC President Kirsty Coventry stated this week that the committee did not foresee a "patchwork" of participation across sports, the IBU joins World Athletics in publicly reaffirming its exclusion of Russian competitors. World Athletics reiterated its own ban last week.
Russian athletes competed as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Christian Radnedge)
