MINSK, 2 October (BelTA) – Four Belarusian athletes have been allowed to compete in the World Aquatics events as neutrals, BelTA has learned.
These four include world record breaker in 100m breaststroke Ilya Shymanovich, and leaders of the Belarusian women’s swimming team Anastasia Shkurdai, Alina Zmushka and Anastasiya Kuliashova. Coach Andrei Lipnitsky also made the list.
In September the World Aquatics Bureau decided on a set of criteria that would allow aquatics athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate in future World Aquatics competitions as Neutral Individual Athletes. The criteria comprise the athletes’ performance under the neutral flag and only in individual heats, as well as, the ban to communicate with the media during the tournaments.
