World Aquatics had revised its guidelines to let junior athletes from Russia and Belarus compete on equal terms with their peers, with the Aquatics Integrity Unit overseeing the process. It had already carried out more than 700 screenings under these rules, expanding a framework that has allowed athletes from both nations to compete as Neutral Individual Athletes since 2023, with teams joining later. “We are determined to ensure that pools and open water remain places where athletes from all nations can come together in peaceful competition,” President Husain Al Musallam said three days ago. Now, it has brought IOC president Kirsty Coventry firmly into view as she sets out where the Olympic Games stand.

The seven-time Olympic medalist highlighted sport’s power to unite people amid growing global tensions, offering one of the few spaces where the world can come together.

“Sport – and the Olympic Games in particular – offer the opposite of the division we see in this world,” Coventry said in a video message released online. “They offer a rare space where people meet not as adversaries, but as fellow human beings. A much-needed space of peaceful competition.”

“Athletes can only inspire us if they are able to compete. They can only do so if we keep sport strictly neutral ground. If politics does not take over on the field of play. For all of us, this means that we must protect the autonomy of sport. So that we can tell all the athletes, no matter where they come from: yes, you can compete freely, without political interference beyond your control.”

This comes in the aftermath of the World Aquatics decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flag, a decision that has come as a surprise to many. That’s because multiple international events have banned athletes from both nations since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The geopolitical situation kept Russian athletes out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after the IOC introduced a ban in 2023. However, the situation around that has been changing lately, as athletes have been allowed to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics and now at World Aquatics events.

“Following a decision of the World Aquatics Bureau, and in consultation with the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) and the World Aquatics Athletes’ Committee, the Guidelines for Athlete Participation in Aquatics Events During a Period of Political Conflict will no longer apply to senior athletes with Belarusian or Russian sport nationality,” read the World Aquatics statement.

“Senior athletes with Belarusian or Russian sport nationality will be permitted to compete in World Aquatics events in the same way as their counterparts representing other sport nationalities, with their respective uniforms, flags, and anthems.”

But at the former, they were only under a neutral banner, although that changed for the Paralympics, which also took place in Milan. At the event, officials allowed six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags after they voted in 2025 to lift the ban on their participation.

The IOC has yet to make a similar decision, although, judging by Coventry’s comments, that may well change in the near future. And yet, the Zimbabewan, who was elected in 2025 as the IOC’s first female president, wasn’t done as she then called out to European leaders.

“I call on the EU and its Member States to stand by these principles that you have recognised so often: respect the autonomy of sport and support the political neutrality of the IOC and of the Olympic Games,” Coventry added. “Because only then can the power of sport truly unfold.”

However, this isn’t the first time that Coventry has called for sports to be politically neutral, having done so in the not-so-recent past.

Kirsty Coventry reiterates neutrality stance ahead of LA 2028 Olympics

The 42-year-old former Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation of Zimbabwe has been making waves recently after her first major policy, which effectively banned transgender women from participating in female-category events. However, before that, Coventry made even more waves when she hinted at potentially allowing Russia and Belarus to participate in future Olympics.

That would mean overturning the ban on the two countries, which has prevented them from participating at both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Throughout the campaign and in many of our conversations since, I have heard the same message from many of you,” Coventry said at the 145th IOC congress, prior to the Olympics, in Milan.

“Focus on our core. We are a sports organisation. We understand politics, and we know we don’t operate in a vacuum. But our game is a sport. That means keeping sport a neutral ground. A place where every athlete can compete freely, without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments.

“In a world that is increasingly divided, this principle matters more than ever. It is what allows the Olympic Games to remain a place of inspiration where the athletes of the world can come together and showcase the best of our humanity.”

However, while she never directly referenced Russia or its ally Belarus, as per the Guardian, the general consensus was that Kirsty Coventry was referring to the two banned nations. It marks the first time that an IOC president has hinted at their potential return to an Olympic Games, with the likelihood being the LA 2028 Games at the earliest. 

And she wasn’t the only one: as FIFA president, Gianni Infantino said he wanted Russia reinstated. Russian fans welcomed both presidents’ comments, especially as they would mark the return of Russian athletes for the first time in nearly three years. 

This is, however, not the first time that Russian athletes have been banned, as they were absent from major competitions for nearly two years from 2019 to 2021. That was after WADA banned the Russian Federation in 2019 for four years (later reduced to two) after widespread violations of anti-doping rules, among other things. 

With World Aquatics taking a decisive step and pressure mounting across governing bodies, Kirsty Coventry’s message signals that the IOC may not stay on the sidelines for long. And if her stance on neutrality holds, the conversation around Russia and Belarus’ Olympic return could shift from speculation to reality sooner than expected.