Paralympics: Russia Now Excluded

A day after the decision to allow Russian athletes to participate in the Paralympics, it was revised again. The international pressure was too great.

Russia and Belarus are now excluded from the Paralympics, which begin on Friday, because of the war in Ukraine. This was announced by the International Paralympic Committee, thereby revising its decision from the previous day.

Several associations, teams and athletes have threatened to boycott the games, which would have endangered the "viability of the Paralympic Winter Games". The situation in the athletes' villages is also escalating, making the safety of the athletes untenable, the IPC said.

Russian Athletes: One Less Weapon

The Russian Paralympic Committee said it reserves the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The decision was "unreasonable" and contradicts the basic principles of the non-political character of the Paralympic family, Russian agencies quoted in a statement.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the IPC decided that athletes from Russia and Belarus could participate as neutral athletes and under the Paralympic flag. This had caused great outrage in the sports world, as well as in the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS). "This is disappointing and despondent. In view of the daily atrocities of war in Ukraine, we would not have thought such a decision possible," said DBS President Friedhelm Julius Beucher. The Association of Athletes Germany made a similar statement.

Global pressure has now made those responsible rethink. "At the IPC, we firmly believe that sports and politics should not be mixed. But through no fault of our own, war has now come to these games, and behind the scenes, many governments are influencing our cherished event," he said Andrew Parson quoted in the statement.

The IOC boss Thomas Bach had defended the IPC despite the controversial decision. He pointed out that the IPC had adhered to the second point of the IOC's recommendations on Monday. The head of the IOC had advised the international federations to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to start as neutral participants if exclusion was no longer possible due to time or legal reasons.

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