More and more sports have begun to ease restrictions and allow Russians to compete internationally.
But athletics stands by the ban. During the ongoing European Championships in Birmingham, no Russians are allowed to participate.
"I am so proud of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Since the first day of the invasion, they have supported Ukrainian athletes and excluded Russian and Belarusian athletes. They have a very clear position on the issue," says Yaroslava Mahuchikh, newly crowned European high jump champion.
"Athletics has a heart"
Her position is crystal clear - as long as the war continues, Russia should not be allowed to participate.
"We lose a lot of athletes who die defending our country. It's crazy. Sports are about representing your country, and it's crazy that you should be allowed to represent a terrorist state like Russia," says Mahuchikh and continues:
I am incredibly grateful that athletics has a heart.
She would be upset if athletics overturned the decision.
"When you see Russians, you immediately think of every destroyed city, every person and their terrible fate. How they were forced to flee occupied areas and live in basements. It's stuck in my head," she says.
Swedish running star Andreas Almgren, recent European Championship gold medalist, shares this view.
I think it's good that they're not involved when you conduct an offensive war in that way, he says.
Almgren finds it sad that after several years of war, the situation now feels like a normal state in people's minds.
"That's what's a bit of a shame now, that several years have passed and it feels like it's starting to become everyday life. It's sad that people are getting used to it," says Almgren.
“An obligation”
Sweden's national team captain Kajsa Bergqvist also does not believe that the Russians should be welcomed back.
It would have felt very strange. I am proud that we stand up for Ukraine. To say that sports are not politics... you can't say that. Sports have such a great symbolic value.
For Mahuchikh, competing is a platform where she feels a duty to speak up for her country.
"I feel a great responsibility and an obligation to talk about Ukraine. There is a war in my home, and it has been going on for several years now. I hope it will end. Ukrainians are strong, we know we will win," she says.
The Russian Athletics Federation filed a new appeal this week with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) against the sanctions that the International Association of Athletics Federations imposed in March 2022 and announced in July this year would remain in place.
