Vladimir Putin Stripped Of FINA Order; Russia & Belarus Can Compete As ‘Neutral’ Athletes

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Vladimir Putin has been stripped of the FINA Order awarded to him in 2014 following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian president is the second man to have had a FINA honour withdrawn in recent months following Dr Lothar Kipke’s removal from the honours list in November 2021.

Kipke was the chief doctor of the East German swimming team during the 1970s and 80s and he was presented with the FINA silver pin award in 1985.

He was convicted in January 2000 of more than 50 charges of causing bodily harm after giving performance-enhancing drugs to young athletes.

FINA had already cancelled the World Junior Championships set for Kazan in August although the World Short-Course Championships scheduled for the same city in December still remain.

The world governing body has also said that Russian and Belarussian swimmers can compete as neutrals – be that as individuals or teams.

Quite how that will be determined remains unclear and is at odds with the call of Ukrainian athletes – among them Andriy Govorov and Mykhailo Romanchuk – to suspend the Russia and Belarus National Olympic Committees while barring athletes from competing at the Paralympic Winter Games starting in Beijing on 4 March.

The group said “aggressor countries should not have any rights to participate in sports events”.

A statement by FINA read:

“With Russian aggression continuing in Ukraine, the FINA Bureau has today made further decisions:

“The FINA Order awarded to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 has been withdrawn.

“Until further notice, no athlete or Aquatics official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus.

“Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags should be displayed or anthems should be played, in international Aquatics events which are not already part of the respective World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions for Russia.

“FINA remains deeply concerned about the impact of the war on the aquatics community and the wider population of Ukraine. FINA will continue to carefully monitor the grave situation and make further decisions as appropriate.”

Putin was awarded the FINA Order by then President Julio Maglione at an international sport conference in Cheboksary, Russia.

It happened in October 2014 – months after the invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

The press release at the time read:

“The FINA Order is granted to a Head of State or individuals of high dignity, who have achieved remarkable merit in the world of Aquatics.

“In the case of President Putin, FINA recognized his important support in the organization of major FINA events in Russian soil, thus bringing additional development to FINA disciplines and providing increased value to Aquatics within the Russian society and worldwide.”

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