After much hesitation, the world swimming association Fina on Wednesday banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from all Fina events - including the world championships in June in Budapest.
The association reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
So far, athletes from both nations have been able to take part in competitions under neutral flags, which has been sharply criticized by many nations.
Germany and Switzerland had already announced that they would not take part in the swimming world championships if Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to start.
competition reassigned
After the Fina decision, the Russian Swimming Federation announced that it would withdraw from all Fina events until the end of the year.
This means that the world association will also have to reassign the short course world championships in December of this year, which were planned in Kazan, Russia.
Fina announced that talks with potential new organizers were underway.
The disciplinary committee of the world association is investigating Olympic champion Yevgeny Rylow for a possible violation of FINA rules.
He is said to have attended a pro-war rally with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last Friday.
The Fina executive applied to the Disciplinary Commission for an accelerated procedure.