Faced with threats of withdrawal and growing hostility in the athletes’ village, organizers of the Winter Paralympic Games on Thursday reversed course and expelled athletes from Russia and Belarus.
The meeting came less than 24 hours after the International Paralympic Committee announced it would allow Russians and Belarusians to compete when the Games open on Friday, but only as neutral athletes with removed colors, flags and other national symbols due to the invasion. in Ukraine.
The Beijing Paralympic Games, which follow the Winter Olympics, end on March 13.
“The war has already come to these games and behind the scenes many governments are influencing our secret event,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said Thursday after announcing the ban. “We were trying to protect the Games from war.”
Parsons said the IPC underestimated the negative reaction to allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete – even as neutral athletes. The athletes’ village, which Parsons hoped would be a place of harmony, he now portrayed as a rolling box.
And not only Ukrainians were outraged by the participation of Russia and Belarus, but in general.
“We have no reports of specific incidents of aggression or anything like that,” Parsons said. “But it was a very, very unstable environment in (Athletes) Village.
“It was a very rapid escalation that we didn’t think would happen. We did not think that whole delegations or even teams in delegations would withdraw, boycott, not participate. “
The first case came when Latvia said its curls would refuse to play against the Russians in a scheduled group match.
IPC spokesman Craig Spence described a major change in just over 12 hours from athletes, administrators and politicians. He said the conversation was “now we are thinking of going home.” We don’t play. “
“This threatens the viability of this event. So this is a huge change, “Spence said. “The atmosphere in the village is not pleasant.”
Parsons said he expects legal action from the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees, which he said he feared on Wednesday when he decided their athletes could compete. The likely venue is the Swiss-based Sports Arbitration Court.
“We believe that the Russian Paralympic Committee and the Belarusian Paralympic Committee can take legal action,” Parsons said. “But the facts we are expressing here have led us to understand that this is the right decision we need to make.”
Russia’s Paralympic Committee has called the decision to expel its athletes “unreasonable” and “illegal.”
“(Russian athletes) have not done anything that could be interpreted as being involved in the current political complications,” the RPC said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also condemned the decision, calling it a “disgrace”.
“The situation is monstrous,” Peskov said. “One decision was made yesterday and another today.”
Parsons said he understood the disappointment of 71 Russians and 12 Belarusians to be sent home. He said he did not know how quickly this would happen, especially with the strict restrictions on COVID-19 in China.
“No one is happy with the decision, but it is certainly the best decision to host the Paralympic Games,” Parsons said.
The IPC is already joining sports such as football, track, basketball, hockey and others, which have imposed general bans on Russians and Belarusians.
The International Olympic Committee on Monday forced sports organizations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events, but left the final decision to the various governing bodies.
The IOC has delayed the crackdown on Russia, allowing its athletes to compete in the last four Olympics following a state-sponsored doping scandal and cover-up of the Sochi Games in 2014. The IOC has also not removed Russians’ membership or leadership positions in its own organization.
Parsons also addressed the Russian and Belarusian athletes directly, saying they were not guilty.
“For parachutists from the affected countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions your governments took last week to violate the Olympic truce,” Parsons said. “You are a victim of the actions of your governments.”
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