The International Paralympic Committee’s decision Wednesday to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” sparked a heartbreaking response just hours after it was announced.
Russian athletes have already been scheduled to compete as RPCs, abbreviated by the Russian Paralympic Committee, as punishment for the state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and subsequent cover-ups.
The IPC added more restrictions for the Russians when the Paralympic Games open on Friday. Belarus has been sanctioned for its involvement in aiding Russia in the invasion and war against Ukraine.
But there was no expulsion. And that hit my nerves.
At a press conference in Beijing hours after the decision, a reporter who said he worked for the Kyiv Post asked IPC President Andrew Parsons what he would say to the family of young biathlete Evhen Malishev.
Malishev was killed this week in Ukraine, but the exact circumstances of his death are unclear. The International Biathlon Union said Wednesday that he “died this week while serving in the Ukrainian army.”
A Kyiv Post reporter picked up the photo of the young man while questioning Parsons.
“I can’t even begin to imagine the pain his family is currently experiencing,” Parsons said. “I can only tell them that my deepest thoughts are with them. This is absolutely not fair. This is disgusting. This is against humanity. “
Parsons has repeatedly defended the decision not to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying IPC rules do not allow it. The IPC is based in Germany, and he said any expulsion “will be overturned in a German court”.
“The principle of political neutrality and true faith in the transformative power of sport must be our North Star, our strength or perhaps our lifeboat,” Parsons added.
The Ukrainian-based reporter said he was the only journalist in the country to reach Beijing, and again pressed Parsons to explain why Russians and Belarusians should be allowed to compete – even as neutral athletes. He repeatedly identified them as “aggressor nations”.
“I can’t even imagine how painful it is to be Ukrainian right now,” said Parsons, a Brazilian. “I try to sympathize and sympathize. It’s difficult. My country is not at war and my family is not hiding in the subways of the capital of my nation. “
IPC spokesman Craig Spence acknowledged the disgust many feel for allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete.
“Right now the world is focused on us and they may not agree with the decision,” Spence said.
Nadine Doris, the British minister in charge of sport, called it a “wrong decision”.
“They (IPC) must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing,” she said.
Parsons said the decision was not unanimous among a dozen board members, but said a majority supported it. He did not give a breakdown of the vote.
Both delegations will be excluded from the table of medals, and the IPC said it would not hold events in either country “as long as the current situation continues”. Parsons called it “the most severe punishment we can impose under our constitution and current IPC rules.”
Instead, athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under the Paralympic flag and use the Paralympic anthem. The RPC delegation must cover the “RPC” symbol on the uniforms of all events and ceremonies. The Belarusian delegation must cover its national flag on uniforms.
The IPC has said it will also withdraw the “Paralympic honor” given to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It says the “Paralympic orders” have also been withdrawn by: Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the organizing committee in Sochi (now Russia’s deputy prime minister); Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (now Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Service); Oleg Siromolotov, Head of the Interdepartmental Command Center for Security of the Sochi Games (now Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs); Alexander Gorovoy, Deputy Chief of the Interdepartmental Command Center for Security (now First Deputy Minister of the Interior).
The International Olympic Committee on Monday urged sports bodies to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events, but left the final decision to the individual governing bodies. The IOC has delayed the crackdown on Russia, allowing its athletes to take part in the last four Olympics following the Sochi doping scandal.
The IOC said action was needed now to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and the safety of all participants”, but left it to the sports authorities to circumvent the exclusion, adding that Russians and Belarusians could compete as neutral athletes. or teams if expulsion was not possible due to short notice.
IPC move comes as Russia is banned from competing in a long list of sports including ice skating, skiing, football, hockey, basketball, athletics and some tennis events. Some sports, such as swimming, have not followed the IOC’s recommendation to ban Russians, instead allowing them to compete as neutral athletes.
Parsons acknowledged the possibility of some Paralympic athletes refusing to compete against their Russian counterparts. He also said that IPC options were “limited” due to the possibility of legal challenges from Russia or elsewhere.
IOC President Thomas Bach will not attend the Paralympic Games and has appointed Parsons, an IOC member, to represent the body. IOC Vice President Ser Miang Ng was supposed to attend, but there was a positive test for COVID-19. The IOC said Ng had only mild symptoms.
Representatives of the Paralympic Games say that 648 athletes and 49 delegations will take part in the Winter Paralympic Games. There were 2,900 athletes with 91 delegations at the Winter Olympics last month.
Officials say 71 Russian athletes are expected to take part in the Paralympic Games, which are joined by 20 from Ukraine. The entire Ukrainian delegation was expected to arrive in time for Friday’s opening ceremony. The Paralympic Games close on March 13.
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