The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decided not to exclude Belarusian and Russian athletes from the Paralympic Games, Wednesday March 2, two days before the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
“In deciding what action to take, the Board was guided by the IPC’s core principles, which include a commitment to political neutrality and impartiality, and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of sport.“, says the statement of the CIP, which nevertheless insists on the fact that it is “united in its condemnation of these actions and agreed that they cannot go unnoticed or go unaddressed.“
The two delegations absent from the medal table
A delegation of 71 Russian athletes was selected for these Games. They will be admitted under a neutral banner and under the aegis of the Russian Paralympic Committee. It will be the same for Belarusians, who will have to cover the flag of their country for all competitions and ceremonies. They will not appear on the medal table.
About thirty Ukrainian athletes from winter and summer Olympic disciplines had co-signed an open letter on Monday addressed to the presidents of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and that of the IPC, Andrew Parsons. They asked them to “immediately suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees”.
The IOC had however “recommended” Monday to all federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in their competitions. But he had also specified that if it was impossible “short-term for organizational or legal reasons“, the athletes concerned should only be authorized to participate under a neutral flag. This is what the IPC decided for these Beijing Games where delegations from all over the world have already been present for several days.
“What we have decided is the most severe possible punishment that we can impose within the framework of our constitution and the current rules of the IPC.“, concludes the statement of the CIP. With 24 medals at the Pyeongchang Paralympics in 2018, the Russian Paralympic Committee finished in 2nd place in the medal table, behind the United States, four years after the raid of 80 medals collected in Sochi.