IBU rejects discussion on Russia's return, biathletes remain outside international competitions
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) will not discuss the return of Russian biathletes to international competitions or the restoration of the full membership status of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) at its 17th Ordinary Congress in Berchtesgaden, Germany. According to information published by the Russian side on 18 August, the RBU asked the IBU Executive Board to include both issues on the Congress agenda, but the request was not accepted. RBU press service head Sergei Averyanov stated that the IBU's response remained the same as before: according to the international federation's position, the conditions that led to the suspension of Russian athletes and their national federation in 2022 have still not been removed. This leaves unchanged the existing regime under which Russian biathletes do not have access to competitions held under the auspices of the IBU, while the RBU's membership remains suspended. The Congress will be held from 17 to 20 September 2026 and will also be important because of the election of the federation's new leadership.
The decision means that there will be no formal vote at the IBU's highest governing body in September on Russia's possible return, although the broader international sporting framework began to change during 2026. On 7 July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and announced that its earlier recommendations to international federations on restricting the participation of Russian athletes were no longer applicable. However, that decision did not automatically oblige individual international federations to change their own rules or lift measures adopted by their governing bodies. The IBU is relying precisely on that institutional autonomy and its own rules in maintaining the current regime. For Russian biathletes, this means that changes within the wider Olympic movement have so far not opened a route to the World Cup, IBU Cup or other competitions of the international federation.
Suspension has been in place since 2022
At the beginning of March 2022, following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IBU first banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in its international events. The federation's Executive Board then suspended the national federations of Russia and Belarus on 29 March, stating that humanitarian obligations arising from the IBU Constitution had been violated and that their active membership would be incompatible with the federation's efforts to credibly implement its own principles. The IBU Congress in Salzburg in September 2022 gave those measures their final political and statutory weight. Delegates then supported the continuation of the suspension of the RBU and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation by 40 votes to one, while a separate decision banning the participation of athletes and officials was adopted by 39 votes to two. At the same time, the IBU left the Executive Board with the authority to monitor the circumstances and, if it determines that the conditions have been met, provisionally lift the suspension before the next decision of Congress.
In its official explanation from 2022, the IBU listed among the conditions for changing the status the need for the national federations to clearly demonstrate their commitment to the purpose and principles of the IBU. As examples of such conduct, the federation cited clearly distancing themselves from the war in Ukraine and providing guarantees that their officials and athletes are not actively involved in the Russian armed forces or participating in the war effort. According to reports on the latest communication between the RBU and the IBU, the international federation is now once again citing the failure to meet the conditions from that decision. For that reason, the issue was not put before the delegates as a new proposal to be discussed and voted on. In practical terms, the legal framework established in 2022 remains in force without a new decision by Congress.
Why neutral status in biathlon is not a simple solution
One of the key differences between biathlon and some other international sports is the way participation rules are structured. In December 2025, after being informed of arbitration proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the IBU again emphasized that its Constitution and its event and competition rules do not provide a route for athletes to participate under individual neutral status. This is an important legal and organizational obstacle because simply allowing neutral competitors would require an amendment to the existing regulatory framework or a different interpretation of the rules. The IBU applied the same position during the qualification period for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, when only athletes who were eligible for IBU competitions and competed through the appropriate national federation could earn the right to participate in biathlon. Because the RBU was suspended, Russian biathletes did not have the usual qualification route through the World Cup and IBU Cup.
Such a model differs, for example, from the approach of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Following CAS decisions at the end of 2025, FIS had to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who met the criteria to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes. In those cases, CAS concluded that a blanket ban based on nationality was not sufficiently justified under FIS statutory rules, so the federation established a neutrality screening procedure. The International Skating Union (ISU) went a step further in June 2026 and decided once again to allow Russian and Belarusian skaters to participate in international competitions in the 2026/2027 season under neutral status, without national flags, anthems or symbols. These examples show that sports federations are currently moving along different legal and political paths, depending on their own statutes, decisions of governing bodies and possible rulings by arbitration institutions.
Russian side is pursuing the dispute before CAS
The RBU is also trying to change the situation through legal means. On 11 December 2025, the IBU officially confirmed that CAS had notified it of a request for arbitration filed by the Russian Biathlon Union, the Russian Paralympic Committee and eight Russian biathletes and para-biathletes. The international federation said at the time that it stood by the decision of its Congress, considered the suspension to have been adopted on firm legal grounds and would fully cooperate with the arbitration court. The RBU, on the other hand, claims that the ban constitutes discrimination on the basis of nationality and that CAS should assess its compliance with the fundamental principles of the Olympic movement. According to publicly available information as of 23 August 2026, a final decision in that dispute has not yet been published.
In his latest statement, Sergei Averyanov claims that the Russian side expects an arbitration ruling specifically on the discriminatory effect of the ban and its compliance with the Olympic Charter. That claim represents the RBU's argument in the proceedings and should not be equated with an already established legal conclusion. The IBU, by contrast, has emphasized in its official statements that its actions are based on decisions of Congress, the safety of participants, the integrity of competitions and the rules governing the membership of national federations. The outcome of the proceedings before CAS may therefore be more important than the September Congress itself for the short-term prospects of Russian biathletes. If the arbitration court accepts the Russian side's key arguments, the IBU could face the need to adapt its rules or reconsider the ban; if it rejects them, the current framework would receive additional legal confirmation.
IOC's change of course does not automatically bind the IBU
Additional pressure on the IBU's existing policy is being created by the change in the position of the International Olympic Committee. On 7 July 2026, the IOC provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, which had been in force since October 2023, after determining that the ROC no longer had among its members regional sports organizations from territories under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. At the same time, the IOC announced that the previously recommended conditions for the participation of Russian athletes and teams were no longer applicable. Nevertheless, international federations retain authority over the rules of their own competitions, qualification systems, statutory relationships with member organizations and safety assessments. For that reason, the IOC decision does not in itself lift the suspension voted on by the IBU Congress.
Differences among federations are already visible. The ISU has opened the door to neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes for the 2026/2027 season, while FIS established its neutral model following a CAS decision. On the other hand, some sports bodies have retained stricter measures or are lifting them gradually. Such fragmentation shows that international sport is not returning to a single model overnight. For biathlon, it is particularly important that the IBU would not only have to make a political decision but, if it wished to introduce neutral status, would also have to resolve the issue of its own competition rules, the status of suspended federations, scoring, entries and eligibility criteria.
Congress in Berchtesgaden brings a major leadership change
Although Russia's return will not be on the agenda, the September Congress will be one of the IBU's most important governance events in recent years. According to the federation's official announcement, the 17th Ordinary Congress will be held from 17 to 20 September 2026 in Berchtesgaden, and delegates will elect the president, vice-president, treasurer, members of the Executive Board and members of the Technical Committee. Slovenian Tim Farčnik is the only candidate for IBU president. The current president, Swede Olle Dahlin, is leaving after reaching the maximum permitted number of terms: three four-year terms on the Executive Board and two four-year terms as head of the federation. Sweden's Sofia Domeij is running unopposed for vice-president, while Austrian Christian Scherer is the only candidate for another term as treasurer.
The change of president means that the discussion about the long-term relationship with suspended member federations will very soon pass to the new leadership as well. Although the Congress in September will not open the issue of Russia as a separate agenda item, the Executive Board, under the earlier decision, still has the task of monitoring compliance with the conditions related to the suspension. The future president and the new composition of the board will therefore inherit an issue that simultaneously has sporting, legal and geopolitical significance. In addition, the Congress will decide on other important matters, including the selection of the host of the 2031 World Championships, for which Kontiolahti in Finland and Östersund in Sweden have submitted bids. Berchtesgaden will therefore be the venue for major decisions concerning the future of biathlon, even without a formal discussion on the return of Russian competitors.
What the decision means for Russian biathletes
The most direct consequence of the IBU's current position is the continuation of the multi-year absence of Russian athletes from the international biathlon system. Without a change in the RBU's status, an amendment to the rules or a CAS decision requiring different treatment, there is no clear mechanism by which Russian biathletes could return to IBU competitions in the short term. This does not mean that the issue is permanently closed: the 2022 decision itself provided for the possibility that the Executive Board could assess changing circumstances and respond if it concluded that the conditions had been met. However, the refusal to place the subject on the agenda of the September Congress shows that the IBU currently does not consider the time to have come for such a change. The Russian side is therefore placing increasing emphasis on the arbitration proceedings and on broader policy changes within the Olympic movement.
For international biathlon, the dispute remains a test of the relationship between the autonomy of sports federations, the principle of non-discrimination and the right of governing bodies to introduce measures they consider necessary for the safety and integrity of competitions. The decisions of FIS, ISU and the IOC create a different context from 2022, but they do not automatically produce the same legal result in every sport. For now, the IBU remains among the federations that retain the ban and do not provide a neutral route for the return of Russian athletes. Until CAS issues a decision or the IBU itself changes its rules and political position, Russian biathletes will remain outside international competitions held under its auspices.
Sources:
- Kommersant – report of 18 August 2026 on the RBU's request to place the return of athletes and the federation's status on the Congress agenda and on the IBU's response (link)
- International Biathlon Union – official information on the 17th Ordinary IBU Congress in Berchtesgaden and the deadlines for 2026 (link)
- International Biathlon Union – decisions of the 2022 Congress on continuing the suspension of Russia and Belarus and banning the participation of their athletes and officials (link)
- International Biathlon Union – confirmation of the arbitration request by the RBU, the Russian Paralympic Committee and eight athletes before CAS from December 2025 (link)
- International Biathlon Union – list of confirmed candidates for the 2026 elections and confirmation of President Olle Dahlin's departure (link)
- International Skating Union – decision of 30 June 2026 on the return of Russian and Belarusian skaters under neutral status in the 2026/2027 season (link)
- International Ski and Snowboard Federation – implementation of the CAS decision on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes as Individual Neutral Athletes (link)
- International Olympic Committee – provisional lifting of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and the end of the application of earlier recommended restrictions on Russian athletes on 7 July 2026 (link)