Fencing World Cup canceled due to participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes

The Polish Fencing Federation has decided to cancel the country's hosting of the Women's World Cup due to the possible participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The tournament was scheduled to take place from 21 to 23 this year in Poznań.

Recently, the International Fencing Federation (IFF) brought Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials back into competition to coincide with the start of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As a result of this decision, more than 300 current and former fencers criticized the decision to return Russian and Belarusian athletes in an open letter published last week. Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from most sports competitions since Russia's military invasion of Ukraine began, but the International Olympic Committee last week recommended that sports federations allow athletes, Russians and Belarusians to participate as neutrals under strict conditions.

These conditions include that the athlete should not belong to the security forces or the armed forces or be supportive of the war effort, and participation will be limited to athletes individually, without raising any national symbols, and they will wear a uniform in white or any other color, and the participation of teams will not be allowed.