war against Ukraine
Beucher pleads for Paralympics without Russians
“No ifs or buts, no!” says Friedhelm Julius Beucher about the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international para events. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Russian and Belarusian athletes are not allowed to participate in the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. According to the German association, this should also be the case at the 2024 Paralympics.
The athletes out Missing from the biggest para event of the year, Russia and Belarus are omnipresent.
The athletes say nothing publicly about this sensitive political topic, the president of the world association is neutral and evasive. But his colleague from the German Disabled Sports Association, Friedhelm Julius Beucher, is all the clearer.
“Without ifs and buts: No! It’s a question of attitude,” said the DBS President of the German Press Agency on the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians. “When the war stops, we’ll have a different situation. As long as it’s going on, it’s beyond my imagination.” He “congratulates” the French government and especially the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who says: “I don’t want a host for Russian and be Belarusian athletes if there is still a war.””
No compromise from the IPC
While the International Olympic Committee recommends its national associations to participate under certain conditions, para-athletes are currently excluded following a decision by the Paralympic Committee. “And I will work with the German delegation at the IPC Congress in Bahrain at the end of September and fight to keep it that way,” said Beucher, who was chairman of the sports committee in the Bundestag from 1998 to 2002. He would therefore also like Paralympics 2024 without Russians and Belarusians.
IOC requirements include strict neutrality, compliance with the anti-doping code and proof of not actively supporting the war. But that is difficult for Beucher to implement. “There may be athletes who are against it at heart,” he said: “But we don’t do an examination of conscience. I don’t presume to be able to judge that. And neither can the IPC and the IOC.”
The 76-year-old also emphasized: “I’m still looking for the peace athletes on the Russian and Belarusian side. I know too many things to the contrary, where the war is glorified and supported in posts.” In addition, “the majority of Russian athletes are army athletes”. Therefore, restrictions are “window dressing. Nobody is neutral because nobody has the opportunity to be neutral. Standing up for a state that wages war in a way that can’t be surpassed in terms of cruelty is in line with the Olympic idea of peace as a Embassy enshrined in its statutes.”
IPC boss remains neutral
World Association President Andrew Parsons, on the other hand, takes a neutral position. “My personal opinion is irrelevant,” said the IPC boss of the dpa and does not want to speculate about the development: “As IPC President, I think it would be wrong to predict the result of the IPC General Assembly in September.”
However, he expects “that all members present will have a solid and respectful discussion on this matter, which is extremely important for the Paralympic movement” and “respect the results of the decisions made”. However, Parsons recently let it be known that he was expecting a similar result in September as at the last IPC meeting.
In terms of sport, the DBS is optimistic about the first World Cup in four years due to the corona. Among the 27 athletes are some gold candidates. Long jumper Markus Rehm, sprinters Johannes Floors and Felix Streng and shot putter Niko Kappel could even come close to world records. Rehm only improved his in June to 8.72 meters. “I’m sure we will have nice experiences in the Parisian air,” said Beucher.