Russian, Belarusian athletes banned from Beijing Paralympics

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) reversed a prior decision and announced on Thursday that athletes from Russia and Belarus would not be permitted to compete in the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. 

“At the IPC we are very firm believers that sport and politics should not mix. However, by no fault of its own, the war has now come to these Games and behind the scenes, many Governments are having an influence on our cherished event,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement.

“In order to preserve the integrity of these Games and the safety of all participants, we have decided to refuse the athlete entries from RPC and NPC Belarus. To the Para athletes from the impacted countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions your governments took last week in breaching the Olympic Truce.  You are victims of your governments’ actions,” added Parsons. 

The reversal comes just one day before the Games are set to open on Friday.

Earlier this week, the IPC said it would not bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in the Paralympics. Russian and Belarusian athletes would not have been allowed to compete under their countries’ flags due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s support of Moscow, it added at the time.

Last week, the International Olympic Committee condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, recommended that athletes and officials from the two countries be barred from competitions and banned events in Russia and Belarus.