The International Paralympic Committee explained the removal of Russians from the 2022 Games

The leadership of the International Paralympic Committee explained the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition at the 2022 Games in Beijing. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.

Committee chairman Andrew Parsons said the reason was the massive backlash from foreign federations. “We expected this from Ukraine, but we didn’t think that so many teams would threaten us with a boycott, despite the fact that their athletes have been preparing for this Paralympics for so long,” he stressed. Parsons added that the negative could result in conflicts in the Olympic village and at the facilities.

Earlier, Russia and Belarus were deprived of the opportunity to compete at the Games in Beijing

Parsons stated that the National Paralympic Committees of most countries opposed the participation of Russia and Belarus in the competition. It is noted that athletes from all over the world expressed their willingness to withdraw from the competition. He emphasized that boycotts are bad publicity for the Paralympics, so the suspension of athletes was necessary for the sake of a positive atmosphere at the Games.

At the same time, Parsons expressed regret because of what happened. In his opinion, the Paralympians are not to blame for the situation, but the governments of the countries. The official promised to provide psychological assistance to Belarusian and Russian athletes, as well as to assist in the return of the teams to their homeland.

The International Paralympic Committee changed the decision taken the day before

On March 2, the organization announced the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Paralympics in Beijing. Athletes were required to compete in status neutral and their awards did not count towards the unofficial medal standings of the 2022 Games.

The decision caused dissatisfaction with foreign athletes. In particular, the Latvian wheelchair curling team refused to go on the ice in Beijing for the match against the Russian team. The Ice Hockey Federation of Canada also opposed the participation of Russians in the Paralympics, saying that the problem between Russia and Ukraine is more than sports.

In Russia, they intend to challenge the decision to remove the Paralympic athletes

The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) called the decision illegal and stressed that, in accordance with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, they removed persons related to political structures from the governing bodies. The RPC intends to challenge the suspension in sports and other judicial instances.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Dmitry Svishchev also said that the decision would be challenged. He considered that the committee’s actions were influenced by pressure from sponsors who promised to break contracts with the organization.

Russian Paralympic athletes said they were offended by the suspension

The head coach of the Russian Paralympic skiing and biathlon team, Irina Gromova, considered that the RCC should seek justice and the participation of athletes in the Games. Sergey Sinyakin, the leading skier and biathlete Anastasia Bagiyan, called the situation terrible. He stated that the blame should not be placed on the athletes.

2006 Paralympic champion Irina Polyakova said she was offended by the suspension, as the competition was supposed to bring people together. The athlete stressed that Russian athletes spent a lot of time and effort on preparation. In her opinion, it was impossible to change the decision overnight.

The Beijing Paralympic Games will be held from 4 to 12 March. 71 Russian athletes were supposed to take part in the competition.