The Russian Federation of Sports has gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge World Athletics’ decision to ban Russian athletes from international competitions because of the war in Ukraine.World Athletics banned athletes from Russia and its partner Belarus from international events in March 2022, shortly after Russia annexed Ukraine.The governing body decided to continue to suspend the project at its council meeting last week. The move comes as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) eased its ban on Russian athletes ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and urged other international organizations to follow suit. The Kremlin described the IOC’s decision as “an important step.”In a statement, Russia’s sports federation said the extended suspension would affect its athletes.“Russian Athletics says that the decision of World Athletics affects the interests of Russian sports and prevents Russian athletes from competing, because Russian sports consider it discriminatory.“Russian Athletics continues to comply with all applicable laws to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”CAS has not yet confirmed whether it has officially registered the case, the AP news agency reported.Last week, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the governing body discussed the possibility of creating a “sustainable return to international competition” for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but ultimately decided against it.“We presented options for the council to consider on this matter, however, the initial decision is still on sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions, without a visible group to reach the peace talks that have been held,” he said.Russia has not competed under their flag at the World Athletics Championships since 2015, when its organization was suspended due to a widespread scandal.Although a plan to allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals was introduced later, it was scrapped in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics has lifted the original suspension related to doping in 2023.No Russian athletes competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris because qualification for the sport is managed by World Athletics, although the IOC allows neutral athletes to compete in several other sports.