Russia, largely excluded from international sports, hosts athletes at BRICS Games

By JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Thousands of athletes in major and obscure sports are vying for medals in the Russian city of Kazan at the BRICS Games, an international competition shadowed by politics amid Russia’s exclusion from major sports events. The games opened Wednesday, which Russia observes as its independence day, underlining the key role of sports in its national identity. Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been frozen out of the most prominent competitions and sports associations; some Russian passport holders can compete as neutral athletes in the Paris Olympics, but their results won’t be credited to Russia. The BRICS Games are a way for Russia to underline its claims of prejudice and inequitable treatment by the West.