ST. GEORGE, Utah — Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from participating in the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon hosted in southern Utah, after the invasion of Ukraine.
The IRONMAN organization made the announcement in a statement of solidarity with Ukraine.
The decision comes after the International Olympic Committee recommended that Russia be banned from all international sporting competitions.
No professional Russian or Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in Ironman events in 2022, according to the organization, and no age group competitors will be allowed to compete under the Russian or Belarusian flag at any Ironman events in 2022.
"In line with the recommendation by the International Olympic Committee and World Triathlon regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competition, The IRONMAN Group, effective immediately, will disallow participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah and our two IRONMAN World Championship events taking place in St. George, Utah and Kona, Hawai’i."
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The full statement from IRONMAN follows:
"The IRONMAN Group stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, our athletes and their community, and condemns the actions dictated by Russian leadership during this deeply troubling international crisis.
The 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 St. Petersburg triathlon scheduled to take place on July 17 will be cancelled and registered athletes will receive further email communication.
In line with the recommendation by the International Olympic Committee and World Triathlon regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competition, The IRONMAN Group, effective immediately, will disallow participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah and our two IRONMAN World Championship events taking place in St. George, Utah and Kona, Hawai’i.
Furthermore, all Russian and Belarusian professional athletes will be ineligible to race at any 2022 IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon events, including this weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai triathlon. No age group participants will be allowed to compete under the Russian or Belarusian flag at any IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 events in 2022.
While we recognize the difficult situation created for Russian and Belarusian athletes by these steps, we believe these are necessary to protect the integrity of our events.
Additionally, we understand that the current situation will be extremely challenging and worrying for athletes residing in Ukraine to compete in any 2022 IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 events and are offering our assistance for those athletes. Ukrainian athletes registered for an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon will receive further communication with options available to them. Those with additional questions may be directed to our athlete services team who are on hand to assist on eu.athleteservices@ironman.com."
