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FINA Bans Russian, Belarusian Athletes from 2022 World Championships

Russia's Evgeny Rylov celebrates with his bronze medal after the men's 200m backstroke final at the Aquatics World Championships in Kazan, Russia August 7, 2015. (Reuters)
Russia's Evgeny Rylov celebrates with his bronze medal after the men's 200m backstroke final at the Aquatics World Championships in Kazan, Russia August 7, 2015. (Reuters)
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FINA Bans Russian, Belarusian Athletes from 2022 World Championships

Russia's Evgeny Rylov celebrates with his bronze medal after the men's 200m backstroke final at the Aquatics World Championships in Kazan, Russia August 7, 2015. (Reuters)
Russia's Evgeny Rylov celebrates with his bronze medal after the men's 200m backstroke final at the Aquatics World Championships in Kazan, Russia August 7, 2015. (Reuters)

FINA has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from this year's world championships in Budapest following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, swimming's global governing body said on Wednesday.

FINA had last month called off the World Junior Swimming Championships that were set to take place in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.

"The FINA Bureau met today and confirmed that athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus will not take part in the upcoming 19th FINA World Championships Budapest 2022," it said in a statement.

"Following these decisions, FINA was informed by the Russian Swimming Federation of the withdrawal of all Russian aquatics athletes from all FINA events for the rest of this year.

"The FINA Bureau also decided to remove the hosting of the FINA Swimming World Championships 2022 from Kazan. The scheduled dates of 17-22 December 2022 will be maintained, and FINA is currently in discussions with potential hosts to take over the event."

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation". Belarus has been a key staging area for Russian troops.

FINA added that its disciplinary panel has opened a procedure against Russian double Olympic champion Evgeny Rylov for a potential violation of its rules.

Rylov, who won gold in the 100 and 200 meters backstroke events at last year's Tokyo Olympics, lost his sponsorship deal with swimwear maker Speedo after attending a rally hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rylov pulled out of this year's world championships in support of athletes banned from competing under the Russian flag.

FINA had previously said that Russian and Belarusian athletes can only compete as neutral athletes or neutral teams.

"In support of Russian Paralympians, in support of all Russian athletes who have been removed from international competitions, I refuse to go to the world championship this summer," Rylov wrote on Instagram.

"I believe that by losing competition, the development of sport is lost. As sad as it may sound, sport cannot move without decent competitors."

This year's world swimming championships, originally scheduled to be held in Fukuoka, Japan, will run from June 18-July 3 in Budapest.

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Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
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Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Lindsey Vonn had surgery on a fracture of her left leg following the American's heavy fall in the Winter Olympics downhill, the hospital said in a statement given to Italian media on Sunday.

"In the afternoon, (Vonn) underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture of the left leg," the Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso said.

Vonn, 41, was flown to Treviso after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite the serious injury to her left knee dominated the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the left knee she ⁠injured in a crash at Crans Montana on January 30, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favorite pistes on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medalist, the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barreled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

She was quickly surrounded by several medics and officials before a yellow Falco 2 ⁠Alpine rescue helicopter arrived and winched her away on an orange stretcher.

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Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
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Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned anti-Olympics protesters as "enemies of Italy" after violence on the fringes of a demonstration in Milan on Saturday night and sabotage attacks on the national rail network.

The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy's financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.

"Then ⁠there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating 'against the Olympics' and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing," she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

A group of around 100 protesters ⁠threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.

An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city's streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.

Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.

Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.

Police reported three separate ⁠incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.

No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.

"Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.

The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.

Sports

Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Liverpool's new signing Jeremy Jacquet suffered a "serious" shoulder injury while playing for Rennes in their 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at RC Lens on Saturday, casting doubt over the defender’s availability ahead of his summer move to Anfield.

Jacquet fell awkwardly in the second half of the ⁠French league match and appeared in agony as he left the pitch.

"For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid (Ait Boudlal, another Rennes player injured in the ⁠same match) it's muscular," Rennes head coach Habib Beye told reporters after the match.

"We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them."
Liverpool agreed a 60-million-pound ($80-million) deal for Jacquet on Monday, but the 20-year-old defender will stay with ⁠the French club until the end of the season.

Liverpool, provisionally sixth in the Premier League table, will face Manchester City on Sunday with four defenders - Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley - sidelined due to injuries.