Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes changed their minds about admitting to the Games in Beijing, they are leaving China

The International Paralympic Committee has changed its mind and announced that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to the Paralympics in Beijing. This was reported on the website of the committee.

Recall that on March 2, the IPC decided to allow the Russian team to the Games in Beijing in a neutral status. However, as the statement says, “the situation in the Olympic villages is escalating, and ensuring the safety of the athletes is becoming impossible.”

According to committee president Andrew Parsons, the IPC firmly believes that sport and politics should not be mixed. However, he noted, the authorities of many countries are putting pressure on them behind the scenes.

The Russian Paralympic Committee, in its official commentary, emphasized that the decision of the International Paralympic Committee “contradicts one of the main principles of the Paralympic family – the apathy of the sport of the disabled.” However, the decision will not be challenged in CAS, and the team is already preparing to fly out of Beijing.

Earlier, we recall, the International Paralympic Committee allowed Russian athletes to participate in the Paralympics in Beijing in a neutral status, and all the prizes they earned should not have been included in the official standings. In addition, the IPC announced that it was stripping Russian President Vladimir Putin and several high-ranking officials of all awards.