(Beijing) Less than 24 hours to change its mind: under pressure, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) finally decided to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Winter Games which start Friday in Beijing.
Posted at 6:32
“It’s a monstrous situation, it’s a shame”, “We strongly condemn the International Paralympic Committee for this decision”, reacted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Seized following the Russian invasion in Ukraine in which Belarus is collaborating, the IPC announced on Wednesday that these athletes could participate in the Games under a neutral banner, a decision contested in several countries.
In a press release, the IPC justified its about-face by the fact that “teams and athletes are now threatening not to participate, jeopardizing the chances of success of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games”.
“The situation in the athletes’ village is deteriorating and guaranteeing their safety has become impossible,” added the Committee, on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Games, which take place in the Chinese capital until March 13.
During a press conference, IPC President Andrew Parsons made a point of addressing the 83 athletes from the two countries concerned.
“We are sorry that you are concerned by the decisions that your governments took last week,” he said, referring to the offensive launched by Moscow in Ukraine, with the cooperation of Belarus. “You are the victims of the acts of your governments. »
On Wednesday, his initial decision to let the two countries compete was heavily criticized.
“The fact of not excluding these two delegations is incomprehensible,” lamented the president of the German Paralympic Sports Federation, Friedhelm-Julius Beucher.
“We argue according to rules, while in Ukraine we kill without any rules. This decision sends a totally bad signal,” he added.
” Big thanks ”
The Head of Mission of the German Paralympic Federation, Karl Quade, had added from Beijing: “The most painful thing for me was to hear the explosion of joy in the Russian pavilion next to ours when Mr. Parsons announced the decision. »
Andrew Parsons had explained that the statutes of the IPC did not allow the organization to exclude these athletes. In any case, not before the organization of a general meeting scheduled for later this year.
He had thus urged participants in the Paralympic Games to treat “neutral athletes (Russians and Belarusians) as they would any other athlete”. “Unlike their respective governments, these athletes and officials are not aggressors,” he said.
For its part, the Ukrainian team arrived in Beijing on Wednesday.
“It’s a miracle,” Valeriy Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, told reporters on Thursday, describing a “difficult” journey to gather athletes and equipment before leaving for Beijing.
PHOTO AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
President of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee Valeriy Sushkevych.
“Many of our team members had difficulty escaping the bombs […] Our main objective in coming here is to defend our country with the entire international sports community,” he stressed.
He also sent a “big thank you” to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for finally reversing its initial decision and excluding the Russian and Belarusian athletes.
world Cup
During the 2018 edition in PyeongChang, the Ukrainians distinguished themselves with several podiums in skiing and biathlon. The delegation had won 22 medals (including 7 gold) and finished sixth in the nations ranking.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accused Russia of breaking the Olympic truce. He urged the federations on Monday to ban Russians but also Belarusians from all competitions.
The International Football Federation (FIFA) has thus excluded Russia from the 2022 World Cup. And many federations (athletics, skating, rugby, boxing, swimming) have announced exclusion measures targeting Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Before the exclusion of Russia and Belarus, the Paralympics-2022 were to bring together some 650 athletes, who will compete in six sports (biathlon, wheelchair curling, sledge hockey, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding) . The opening ceremony is to take place on Friday.
As during the Olympics, the sporting event will take place in a health bubble to avoid any leakage of the coronavirus elsewhere in China.