MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The world governing body of track and field athletics, World Athletics, is set to make a decision in July regarding Russian athletes’ admission to the 2026 Youth Summer Olympic Games in Senegal, Pyot Fradkov, chairman of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF), said on Wednesday.
"We are not making a secret of our close cooperation with World Athletics, including correspondence and other contacts," Fradkov said, speaking at a session of the State Duma (the Russian parliament’s lower house) Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.
"I must say that some of our colleagues have sided with extreme positions and attempt to connect everything with politics," he continued. "We are not giving up and continuing the negotiations."
"We are currently focused on discussions on the admission of our young athletes to the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal in October 2026," Fradkov noted. "We assume that the World Athletics Council will consider this issue in early July following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee [IOC]."
"Numerous [international sports] federations have followed the recommendations, while others have not yet done so," Fradkov added.
