UWW lifts restrictions on Russian and Belarusian wrestlers: return of flags, designations and anthems at international competitions
United World Wrestling (UWW), the international wrestling federation headquartered in Switzerland, announced on May 15, 2026, that Russian and Belarusian wrestlers may once again compete under full national symbols. The decision applies immediately and refers to future UWW competitions in all age categories, including senior competition. According to UWW’s announcement, athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to compete under national flags, while the designations “RUS” and “BLR” may again be used on the equipment of athletes and members of coaching staffs. In the event of winning a gold medal or a team title at UWW events, the national anthems of those countries will also be played again.
This is the most significant change in UWW policy toward Russian and Belarusian representatives since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022. At that time, in accordance with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), UWW decided that athletes and officials connected with the Russian and Belarusian federations would not be invited to, nor allowed to participate in, international competitions from the UWW calendar. The new decision does not merely mean the removal of neutral status for certain groups of athletes, but returns the national team to the full symbolic framework of international wrestling. UWW stated that all other standard competition protocols remain in force in accordance with international wrestling rules.
What exactly is changing at UWW competitions
According to UWW’s official announcement, Russian and Belarusian wrestlers will no longer compete under a neutral designation or under the flag of the international federation, but under the flags of their countries. This decision applies to all levels of competition, from younger age groups to senior tournaments. In practice, this means that the national designations of Russia and Belarus may again appear on official entries, draws, results, scoreboards, ceremonies and equipment. UWW particularly emphasized that national anthems may be played during medal ceremonies if an individual wrestler wins gold or if a national team wins the team title.
This decision comes after a gradual easing of restrictions in previous years. In January 2026, UWW allowed wrestlers from Russia and Belarus to compete under national flags up to the U23 age group, citing the IOC recommendation according to which young athletes with Russian or Belarusian citizenship should no longer be restricted in access to international sports competitions. At that time, the decision covered the U15, U17, U20 and U23 categories, and applied to both individual and team competitions. With its latest decision, UWW has extended that model to senior competition as well, thereby removing the key difference between younger and adult categories.
The change is also important because, in wrestling, national affiliation is very clearly displayed through official competition designations. Unlike the period in which individual athletes could compete as neutral competitors, their result is now again directly attributed to the national team. This also changes the visibility of the sports federations of Russia and Belarus on the international stage. In its announcement, UWW did not state any additional conditions that, after this decision, would specifically restrict participation solely because of the citizenship of athletes from those two countries.
From a complete ban to neutral status
In March 2022, UWW reacted to the geopolitical situation connected with the war in Ukraine and aligned itself with the measures then recommended by the IOC. In that first period, wrestlers and officials from Russia and Belarus were not invited to, nor allowed to compete in, international competitions under the auspices of UWW. Such an approach was part of the broader reaction of international sport after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Belarus being treated as a key ally of Russia because of its role in enabling Russian military activities.
In April 2023, UWW established an independent commission to verify the eligibility of Russian and Belarusian wrestlers, relying on the conditions recommended by the IOC. At the same time, younger age categories, U15 and U17, were allowed to compete as neutral athletes. Such a model was intended to enable the return of part of the athletes to international competition, but without state insignia, anthems and symbols. Neutral status in international sport during that period meant that an athlete competed individually, without officially representing a state, and that their right to compete was assessed according to criteria that included their attitude toward the war and links to military structures.
In September 2024, UWW further adjusted the eligibility criteria for wrestlers and members of coaching staffs from Russia and Belarus. According to the federation’s announcement at the time, in order for an athlete to be declared ineligible in the future, only proven direct military participation in the war against Ukraine or public statements of support for the war, its promoters or participants were to be taken into account. UWW also announced at that time that previously rejected cases would be reconsidered under the new criteria. Nevertheless, at that stage eligible athletes still competed under a neutral flag, without the national symbols of Russia and Belarus.
Transitional period under the UWW flag
The next important change occurred in February 2025, when UWW announced that all eligible wrestlers from Russia and Belarus could compete under the UWW flag, with the removal of the designation “Individual Neutral Athletes”. This eased neutral status in a formal sense, but national symbols were still not allowed. At that time, UWW did not approve the use of national anthems, flags, symbols or coats of arms of Russia and Belarus. For medal winners, under the model then in place, the anthems of their countries were not played; instead, the framework of the international federation was maintained.
Such a transitional model showed UWW’s effort to reintegrate athletes into the competition system, but without restoring full national representation. This was in line with part of the approach applied in various forms by other international sports federations as well. Some federations allowed neutral participation with strict checks, while others maintained broader bans. Differences among sports became particularly visible because IOC recommendations did not automatically oblige every international federation to apply the same model.
UWW’s latest decision now closes that transitional period for wrestling. Russian and Belarusian athletes no longer enter competitions as neutral individuals or as representatives under the UWW flag, but again as athletes of their national federations. Wrestling is thereby placed among the sports that have moved toward a broader return of national symbols for Russia and Belarus, although the wider Olympic system remains uneven. It is especially important that the position of Russia and Belarus in individual sports does not necessarily have to coincide with the rules that apply to the Olympic Games.
The wider Olympic context and different approaches by federations
After the beginning of the war in 2022, the International Olympic Committee recommended measures against Russia and Belarus to sports organizations, and in 2023 developed a model under which individual athletes could compete as individual neutral athletes. According to the IOC’s explanations, that framework included conditions such as banning participation by athletes who actively support the war or are connected with military structures. The IOC also retained the right to decide separately on the participation of neutral athletes at the Olympic Games, independently of the qualification systems of international federations.
In December 2025, the IOC supported the recommendation that young athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports should not be restricted in access to international youth competitions, in individual and team sports. UWW referred precisely to that recommendation when, in January 2026, it restored national flags and anthems for age categories up to U23. However, the Olympic direction for youth at that time did not automatically mean the full return of all Russian and Belarusian athletes to senior competitions under national symbols. UWW has now gone one step further and applied a similar model to its entire competition system.
At the same time, in May 2026 the IOC announced that it no longer recommends restrictions for Belarusian athletes and Belarus within the framework of earlier measures from 2022 and 2023. According to that announcement, the change refers to Belarus and Belarusian athletes, while the status of Russia continues to be considered separately due to special circumstances and decisions relating to the Russian Olympic system. This is precisely why the decisions of individual international federations should be viewed separately. With its own decision, UWW simultaneously lifted restrictions for both Russia and Belarus within international wrestling.
What the decision means for athletes and competitions
For Russian and Belarusian wrestlers, the decision means a return to the international system without the special neutral framework that in recent years affected the way they were represented at major tournaments. This may have sporting, organizational and symbolic consequences. Competitors again compete for national teams, results can be recorded under the names of countries, and teams appear in official rankings with national designations. For spectators and organizers, this means a return to the usual protocol applied to most other national teams.
For UWW, the decision raises the question of the relationship between the autonomy of an international federation and the broader political context in which sport has operated since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. In its official statement, the federation emphasized the technical and competition aspect of the change, with a note that standard protocols remain in force. It did not, however, publish a broader political explanation or a list of additional verification mechanisms after the complete lifting of restrictions. According to available information, the decision applies to UWW competitions and does not represent a general rule for all international sports events.
For Ukrainian sport and part of the international sports public, such decisions remain sensitive because they are taking place while the war in Ukraine continues. Ukrainian institutions and sports officials have repeatedly criticized in previous years the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes in any form that could be interpreted as normalization of the national presence of Russia and Belarus in international sport. On the other hand, the IOC and some federations emphasize the principle that individual athletes should not be automatically excluded solely because of their passport if they meet the prescribed conditions. UWW’s decision shows that this debate is no longer being conducted only around neutral participation, but also around the full return of national symbols.
An uneven picture of international sport
The position of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sport remains uneven. Some federations are gradually easing measures, some allow only neutral participation, and some maintain stricter restrictions. For that reason, UWW’s decision does not mean that Russia and Belarus have been fully returned to all international sports systems. Above all, it shows the direction in which wrestling is moving as a sport under the auspices of its international federation.
The difference between competitions of international federations and the Olympic Games is also important. Even when an individual federation allows participation under national symbols at its competitions, the IOC may prescribe a separate regime for the Olympic Games. For the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, the IOC previously stated that individual neutral athletes may compete under conditions similar to those applied for Paris 2024, which shows that the Olympic framework does not have to follow every decision of an individual federation. Wrestling is not a Winter Olympic sport, but UWW’s decision can be viewed as part of a broader trend that will be important ahead of future Summer Olympic cycles.
UWW’s announcement of May 15, 2026, therefore has significance that goes beyond the schedule of individual wrestling tournaments. It returns Russia and Belarus to the full symbolic space of international wrestling, with national flags, designations and anthems. At the same time, it confirms that international sport continues to face different interpretations of the balance between athletes’ right to compete, the responsibility of sports institutions and the political context of the war in Ukraine. How this decision will affect upcoming championships, reactions from other federations and the position of athletes from Ukraine will become visible through the next UWW tournaments and official reactions from national federations.
Sources:
- United World Wrestling – official announcement on lifting restrictions on Russian and Belarusian wrestlers, including the return of flags, designations and anthems (link)
- United World Wrestling – January 2026 announcement on allowing Russian and Belarusian wrestlers to compete under national flags up to the U23 age group (link)
- United World Wrestling – September 2024 announcement on changing the eligibility criteria for wrestlers and members of coaching staffs from Russia and Belarus (link)
- International Olympic Committee – questions and answers on sanctions, solidarity with Ukraine and the status of athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement on the recommendation that young athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports should not be restricted in access to international youth competitions (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement on lifting recommended restrictions for Belarusian athletes and Belarus (link)