{"id":133555,"date":"2026-09-07T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=133555"},"modified":"2026-09-06T07:30:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T05:30:59","slug":"07-00-125","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=133555","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland Triathlon Bans Israeli Athletes Citing Public Safety Concerns, Support for Palestinians"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>Northern Ireland Triathlon Bans Israeli Athletes Citing Public Safety Concerns, Support for Palestinians<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Shiryn Ghermezian<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in front of the Central Bank of Ireland against the sale of Israeli bonds throughout the EU, in Dublin, Ireland, May 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS\/Clodagh Kilcoyne<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Israeli athletes set to compete in a triathlon in Northern Ireland on Saturday have been banned from participating in the race following public safety concerns, with organizers explaining the decision was also a reflection of their support for Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The North West Triathlon Club (NWTC), which is organizing the 2026 Europe Triathlon Cup, confirmed on Thursday that no athletes representing Israel will be competing in the race in the city of Derry. Four Israeli triathletes had been scheduled to compete in the men\u2019s elite race. The Triathlon Cup includes both elite and junior races.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey will not be lining up at our start line, and they will not be taking part in our race. There will no Israeli representation competing at this event,\u201d NWTC said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0shared on Facebook. \u201cThis is not a position directed at anyone because of their religion or ethnicity, nor is it hostility towards an individual simply because they were born in Israel. It is a position concerning representation of the State of Israel in international sport and the attempt to present normality on the international sporting stage while Palestinians continue to suffer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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NWTC said it was not involved in and had no control over who was accepted or approved entry to compete in the triathlon. International registration was handled by World Triathlon, which is the governing body of the sport. NWTC explained that the decision to exclude Israeli athletes from the Europe Triathlon Cup was made based on the club\u2019s \u201cvalues,\u201d the values of its members, and \u201cvery real concerns being raised around athlete and public safety, the potential for serious disruption and the wider risk to an event involving hundreds of competitors from Ireland and across the world.\u201d If Israeli athletes participate in the race, the entire event\u2019s ability to proceed as planned could be at risk, the club claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

NWTC said it immediately expressed strong concerns to Triathlon Ireland and Europe Triathlon after it was informed that Israeli athletes would be participating in the triathlon. The club said it \u201cmade clear in the strongest possible terms that it could not support their participation in the circumstances.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus can now return fully to what this weekend should be about \u2014 welcoming athletes from across the world to Derry and showcasing our city, our river and our people on the international sporting stage,\u201d NWTC said in conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Triathlon Ireland confirmed in its own statement that Saturday\u2019s race \u201cdoes not include any athletes representing Israel.\u201d The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told BBC News NI it was \u201caware of potential protest activity in relation to the event.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the decision, the Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) released a statement reiterating its policy in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel that was adopted in October 2016. \u201cWe would like to take this opportunity to highlight Council\u2019s ongoing support for the [BDS] movement which is promoted on our platforms regularly in line with the wider global campaign of solidarity with the Palestinian people,\u201d the DCSDC said, as cited by the BBC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician Mark Durkan\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday he was \u201crelieved that no Israeli athletes will compete\u201d in the race, and there had been \u201cunderstandable anger at the revelation that Israel would be competing.\u201d Meanwhile, Julie Middleton, a Democratic Unionist Party member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, criticized the decision and called it an \u201cawful reflection\u201d on Derry.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAn international sporting event that should showcase our city\u2019s hospitality and openness has instead become associated with the exclusion of athletes because they are Israeli,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Embassy of Israel in London called the decision not to allow Israeli athletes to compete in the triathlon \u201cdeeply troubling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSport should bring people together, not become a vehicle for discrimination and division,\u201d the embassy said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0on Friday. \u201cIf the NWTC cannot provide safety to all participants and event goers, it raises serious questions as to the ability to hold any future events. NWtC [sic] must allow uphold the principles of equality, fairness, and inclusion. Israeli athletes must be afforded the same right to compete as athletes from every other nationality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Europe Triathlon Cup returns to Ireland this year for the first time since 2024, when Cork hosted both the elite and junior races.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Northern Ireland Triathlon Bans Israeli Athletes Citing Public Safety Concerns, Support for Palestinians Shiryn Ghermezian Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in front of the Central Bank of Ireland against the sale of Israeli bonds throughout the EU, in Dublin, Ireland, May 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS\/Clodagh Kilcoyne Israeli athletes set to compete in a triathlon in Northern Ireland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133555"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133555"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133573,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133555\/revisions\/133573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}