All rowers from Russia and Belarus will now be able to take part in World Rowing regattas, including the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, following a change in the global governing body’s eligibility rules. However, they will be required to compete as individual neutral athletes (AIN), must not display flags, colors or symbols from their home nations, and must not play or sing their national anthems.
World Rowing suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In summer 2023, that restriction was relaxed to allow a small number of competitors holding Russian and Belarusian passports at the World Rowing Championships.
To date, no rowers from either country have competed in any edition of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, either before the ban or neutrally afterwards. But with qualification for LA28 beginning in less than two years, participation from other countries has surged—in 2025, rowers from 55 different countries took part in worlds.