Russian and Belarusian athletes will finally be excluded from the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Thursday, on the eve of the opening of the competition. 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 which had been contested in several countries.
Countries threatened not to participate
In a press release, the IPC justified its reversal by the fact that “teams and athletes are now threatening not to participate, compromising 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.
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.
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 athletes, and sometimes Belarusians .