(Reuters) – Norwegian fencers will not participate in events where Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete, Norway’s fencing federation said on Friday, extending the list of nations opposing the return of athletes from the two countries.
The International Fencing Federation (FIE) on March 10 cleared fencers from Russia and Belarus to return to international events just before 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers, which resulted in the cancellation of events in Denmark, Germany, and Poland.
In addition, the Norwegian Federation cancelled its annual satellite fencing event in Oslo. Instead, it said it would arrange a competition with Sweden and Finland outside of the FIE World Cup.
“Since the invasion, the association has worked both nationally and with the other Nordic fencing federations for the banning of all Russian and Belarusian sports to show sympathy for Ukraine and the demand for peace,” the federation said in a statement.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from most elite international sporting competitions since last March in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
