Russian athletes return to major event under flag and anthem (VIDEO)

The Russian national water polo team has defeated Argentina at a competition in Malta

A Russian national team has appeared at a major team sport event under the national flag and anthem for the first time since 2022.   

The women’s water polo team became the first Russian squad to participate in a competition in a full-fledged status after the World Aquatics lifted all the restrictions imposed on the country, as well as its ally Belarus, over the Ukraine conflict. The federation, which oversees competitions in swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming, water polo, and open-water swimming, has been easing restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes since 2024. This month it opted to lift them in full.  

“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,” the federation said earlier this month.  

The Russian female team faced off against Argentina during the second division competition underway in Malta, inflicting a decisive defeat of 33:11. The Russian team is now set to face Germany and South Africa later this week.  

The World Aquatics decision has sparked a storm of criticism from Kiev and its backers. Ukraine’s men’s team withdrew from the competition in protest. The EU commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, harshly criticized the federation’s ruling, branding it a “grave mistake” and proclaiming that the bloc would not “accept this normalization.”   

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Over the past year, multiple international sports bodies have also restored the rights of certain Russian athletes to compete at global events – including bobsledders and skeleton racers, skiers and snowboarders, gymnasts, figure skaters, and riders – although only under a neutral status without national flags or anthems. Late last year, the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) cleared Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags and anthems.   

Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western countries of politicizing sport and pressuring federations to exclude their athletes, as well as of adhering to double standards.