Yahor Varapayeu (Belarus)
Sport: Judo
Status: Admitted to compete under national symbols (OTP Bank World Senior Championships 2025, Hungary)
Yahor Varapayeu, who had previously competed as a neutral athlete, has been admitted to participate in the OTP Bank World Senior Championships 2025 under the national symbols of Belarus.
According to publicly available information, Varapayeu is a member of the Belarusian Armed Forces sports club. He has also taken part in competitions hosted in the Russian Federation after February 2022, including the 2024 BRICS Sports Games.
Such affiliation with a military sports institution, combined with continued participation in events organised in cooperation with the Russian Federation during the ongoing war, raises substantial concerns regarding compliance with international sporting standards and previously established eligibility criteria.
The reinstatement of national symbols under these circumstances may undermine the integrity of international sport and contradict the principles intended to ensure neutrality and independence from state military structures.
Sources:
– Official athlete profile:
https://judo.by/sportsmeny/voropaev_egor.html
– Official letter of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Judo Federation: