Russia heads to sports court to overturn its ban from international track and field

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russia's track and field federation says it has gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a World Athletics ruling suspending its athletes from international events due to the war in Ukraine.

World Athletics excluded all athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from its international events in March 2022, days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

It kept that suspension in place at a council meeting last week. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has eased its restrictions on Russia ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — something the Kremlin hailed as an “important step” — and recommended other sports bodies do the same.

“Russian Athletics notes that World Athletics’ decision affects the fundamental interests of athletics in Russia and restricts Russian athletes’ right to compete, on grounds that Russian Athletics considers discriminatory," the Russian track federation said in a statement.

"Russian Athletics continues to pursue all available legal measures to protect the interests of Russian athletes.”

World Athletics vowed to defend the case.

“We take note of the Russian athletics federation’s appeal to CAS, and we will be strenuously defending our position," it said in a statement. CAS confirmed it has received “a request for arbitration” without giving details of when it could be heard.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said last week his organization discussed options for “a conditional pathway back into international competition” for Russian and Belarusian athletes, but opted against.

“We presented options for the council to consider on this matter, however, the original decision remains on the sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions, with no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialized,” he said.

Russia hasn't competed under its own flag at a world athletics championships since 2015, when the Russian track federation was suspended over widespread doping.

A program allowing its athletes to compete under a neutral flag was ended in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics' original doping suspension was lifted in 2023.

No Russians competed in Olympic athletics at the 2024 Paris Games because the qualification system is overseen by World Athletics, even though the IOC allowed neutral athletes in other sports.

Volleyball became the first major Olympic team sport to welcome Russia back since the IOC decision. Its governing body, the FIVB, said in a statement Wednesday that it plans to allow back Russian teams and players at all levels.

“This approach reflects the FIVB’s commitment to protecting the fundamental right of athletes to access sport regardless of their nationality,” it said. It's not yet clear if those teams will play with Russian national symbols, though.

“The display of the Russian flag, anthem, colors or any other identifications will be at the discretion of the FIVB and the European Volleyball Confederation and decided in due time in consultation with the relevant international sports organizations to guarantee the full participation of the athletes,” the FIVB added.

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A man walks from the Russian National Olympic Committee building in Moscow, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Jaylen McGill ran 24 yards for a touchdown with 1:53 remaining for North Carolina’s first points since early in the second quarter and the Tar Heels recovered to beat Duke 24-20 on Saturday.

Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 191 yards and a touchdown plus a key fourth-down completion on the winning drive as North Carolina (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won as a road underdog for the second straight week.

“Fortunately, we were able to make a couple more plays than they did,” Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick said. “I thought our guys earned it.”

Duke (4-2, 1-2) took its first lead when Nate Sheppard scored from 7 yards out by reaching the end zone off a short pass from Walker Eget with 4:39 left.

Two years ago in the same stadium, Duke rallied from a 20-0 deficit to beat the Tar Heels.

Sheppard, the nation’s leading rusher in yards per game, was held to 77 yards on 20 carries, though he netted 98 yards on 11 receptions.

North Carolina went more than 41 minutes without scoring before McGill burst through the line with an open path to the end zone.

Edwards, a first-year Tar Heel, said he felt “the weight of this game” because of the importance to each university.

The Tar Heels led 17-0 after Demon June’s 4-yard run on the third play of the second quarter.

Duke began its comeback with safety Andrew Pellicciotta’s 9-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels managed only about 100 yards after scoring the game’s first 17 points until they marched 78 yards on their final full possession with the outcome on the line. That included a fourth-and-4 conversion from their own 28-yard line with 3:48 left when Edwards connected with Jelani Thurman over the middle for 12 yards.

“I wasn’t punting again,” Belichick said. “I wanted to take our best shot.”

Edwards said, “We had run that play a few times throughout the night.”

Duke: The Blue Devils had won eight consecutive games against in-state opponents. But just like a week earlier at Georgia Tech, they couldn’t hold on after gaining a late lead and gave up the winning touchdown inside the 2-minute timeout.

“I told the team in the locker room that there’s a good football team that’s had two very tough results,” coach Manny Diaz said.

North Carolina players rushed across the field at game’s end to reclaim the Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the annual matchup.

“It felt amazing,” said receiver Jordan Shipp, whose 5-yard catch in the first quarter marked the game’s first touchdown. “That’s why you come to Carolina, for a rivalry game like that.”

As Belichick spoke to reporters in a small room outside the visiting locker room, sounds of the Victory Bell ringing threatened to interrupted him a few times. He already had his moment.

“I did ring, absolutely,” Belichick said. “I’m sure it’ll be out there on ‘MyFace’ or whatever.”

North Carolina: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday night.

Duke: Friday night at Virginia

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Duke's CJ Campbell (0) is hit by North Carolina's Greg Smith III (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)