The German Swimming Association (DSV) has announced to its athletes and coaches that they will not travel to the World Championships in Budapest if, as previously planned, Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to start under neutral flags.
This decision has already been communicated to the International Swimming Federation FINA, according to a letter from DSV President Marco Troll to all athletes in the Olympic and perspective squads and the full-time coaches.
Troll continues to write that he assumes that the "clear statement" is in the interests of the athletes and coaches and receives their support.
The DSV is also reacting to a decree by the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
It informed sports federations last Wednesday that it would not provide any grants for participation in competitions with competition from Russia, the country that invaded its neighbor Ukraine three weeks ago and embroiled it in a terrible war, and Belarus , which makes its territory available as a staging area.
"The DSV cannot take part in the World Championships in Budapest (June 18th - July 3rd) if the world association FINA allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate, even under a neutral flag we didn't think that was the right sign at the moment.
We have already approached FINA directly and expressed this position," says the letter from the DSV President.
Together with other European national associations and the European Swimming Association, the FINA should be influenced after obtaining a “mood picture”.
“We hope, of course, that we as Europe are strong enough to change the current positioning of FINA.
We would then be able to take part in the World Cup,” writes Troll, who is also Vice President of the LEN.
The European umbrella organization has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions because of the attack on Ukraine.
The FINA has so far rejected this and expressly allowed athletes from the countries responsible for the war to start under a neutral flag.
FINA, under its Kuwaiti President Husain Al Musallam, is thus defying the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
However, the FINA Board has reserved the right to exclude athletes in individual cases if their participation in competitions under FINA sovereignty "endangers the safety of athletes and the feasibility of an event," as stated in a statement dated March 8.
Before the DSV, the Swiss Swimming Association had already announced that it would boycott the World Championships if Russian and Belarusian athletes were to start there.