It has already been announced that last weekend the fourth stage of the PK in luge sports took place on the Sigulda track, but despite the decision of the International Luge Sports Federation (FIL) to allow athletes from the aggressor countries to compete as neutral athletes, Russian luge riders could not participate.
The stage in Sigulda took place from January 2 to 4, but a week earlier Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže (JV) included 14 Russian athletes in the list of undesirable persons for Latvia.
“The Russian Luge Federation and the Russian Olympic Committee have written complaints to the IOC, but it should be noted that the Russian Olympic Committee’s participation in the IOC has been suspended, and therefore the legal status of these complaints is not really understood at the moment,” said Vasks.
The LKSF president also added that the FIL-directed decisions about the independent athletes caused unpleasant inconveniences in organizing the event. The process was not transparent enough, but as a result, after several appeals about the status of neutrality, these athletes were not allowed to compete in Sigulda for reasons of national security. Vasks explained that the decision on neutral status athletes was made by the competent authorities of the country, not by the LKSF.
In the previous stage, which took place in the USA at the end of December, the Russians returned to the World Cup circuit for the first time since 2022.
The IOC wants the Russians to be able to compete as neutral athletes in the upcoming Olympics. The FIL, like most federations, initially refused to allow Russian athletes to participate this year, but after appeals these decisions had to be changed.
At the end of October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided that representatives of the Russian Luge Federation still cannot participate in FIL competitions, but individual Russian athletes can be allowed to start as neutral athletes if they meet the specified criteria.
