OREANDA-NEWS  More than 20 Russian athletes have been granted neutral status to participate in the World Short Course Swimming Championships. This is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the release of the Independent Body for Combating Negative Phenomena in Water Sports (World Aquatics Integrity Unit, AQIU).

The World Cup will be held from December 10 to December 15 in Budapest (Hungary). Among those who received neutral status are world record holder Evgenia Chikunova, World Championships medalist Kirill Prigoda and world champion Ilya Borodin.

In November, World Aquatics relaxed the criteria for admission to competitions for Russians. Russian athletes will now be able to compete at international synchronized swimming tournaments, as well as in group disciplines in swimming and diving. Restrictions on individual starts have also been lifted in swimming.

Previously, Chikunova refused to receive a neutral status. She did not go to the 2024 Olympic Games, considering the conditions of admission of Russian athletes unacceptable.