London has been blocked from hosting the new Olympic Qualifier Series in the build-up to the Paris Games over the position on athletes from Russia and Belarus.
Under British Government rules, competitors from both nations must sign a declaration that they are not state funded and back neither the invasion of Ukraine nor President Vladimir Putin.
That position has seen the International Olympic Committee to step in to block London from hosting the event, which includes breaking, skateboarding, climbing and BMX freestyle. It denies Team GB athletes an opportunity to qualify for Paris 2024 on home soil.
A BOA spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed that we have not been able to bring the Olympic Qualifier Series to the UK as we had hoped. It is particularly frustrating for those British athletes who are now missing out on the advantage of striving to qualify for Paris in front of a passionate home crowd.”
The stance follows on from Wimbledon where the likes of Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, semi-finalists in the men’s and women’s singles, had to sign such declarations of neutrality in order to compete. A year ago, they were blocked from competing at SW19.
