Judo Lifts Ban On Russians Competing Under Own Flag

Russian athletes have been cleared to compete under their national flag starting at this week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, the International Judo Federation says.

In September 2022, the IJF banned Russian and Belarusian judokas from global events until January 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Ukraine boycotted the 2023 World Judo Championships after the IJF allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals.

Belarusian athletes were cleared to compete under their flag in June and the IJF has now voted to allow Russia to do the same.

“Historically, Russia has been a leading nation in world judo, and their full return is expected to enrich competition at all levels while upholding the IJF’s principles of fairness, inclusivity, and respect,” the IJF said.

“Sport is the last bridge that unites people and nations in very difficult conflict situations and environments.”

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam begins on Friday and concludes on Sunday.

The IJF’s decision comes after the International Paralympic Committee lifted partial suspensions on Russian and Belarusian athletes in September – paving the way for athletes to compete under their own flags at the Winter Paralympics in March 2026.

However Russian and Belarusian para-athletes will not be at Milan Cortina because the individual sport governing bodies decided to keep their bans in place – or had already decided which countries had qualified for the event.

Similarly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had said Russian and Belarusian athletes could feature at the Winter Olympics, which start on 6 February, under a neutral flag.

However, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation’s voted against that decision last month, meaning Russian and Belarusian skiers and snowboarders will not be able to compete at the Olympic Games.

Russia did not send any competitors to Paris in 2024, citing “humiliating conditions” after just four of its 17 judokas were given permission to compete by the IOC.

Russian president Vladimir Putin was suspended as the IJF’s honorary president in February 2022.