Kirsty Coventry was elected as the IOC president in March 2025
World Athletics has rejected a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee that a ban on Belarusian athletes and teams competing under the flag of their nation should be lifted.
On Thursday, the IOC's executive board urged international sports federations and event organisers to allow the country to return to international competition, while keeping restrictions on Russia in place.
Both countries were suspended from Olympic competition after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia. A partial ban - allowing athletes to compete as neutrals - was introduced in 2023.
The IOC said
