The International Paralympic Committee has published rules for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, as well as support staff, in the Games in Paris, which will be held in September.
The main points contained in the document have already been announced earlier, but are now officially recorded.
In particular, athletes from these countries must compete at the tournament only in individual competitions in a neutral status - under a white flag with a black NPA inscription.
The awards they win will not be included in the medal count.
If one of them wins gold, the Paralympic anthem will be performed at the awards ceremony.
Those who openly support the SVO or have a contract with military organizations will not be able to obtain neutral status: the IPC will form an independent body to assess compliance with this requirement.
The equipment, attributes and overall appearance of representatives of the Russian Federation should not contain the tricolor, coat of arms, emblems, symbols and any inscriptions associated with the state.
All clothing items will have to be approved by the International Paralympic Committee.
However, the limitations don't end there.
What's new: delegations from both countries are not allowed to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games; they will not have standard bearers.
However, the Russian Paralympic Committee is much more concerned about the fact that members of the organization’s executive committee cannot go to the tournament in any way, including as support staff.
As stated in the official statement, this will greatly complicate the resolution of issues that arise directly during the team’s performance.
“The RKR believes that this is a discriminatory decision against Russian athletes based on their nationality.
To deny athletes the opportunity to demonstrate that they come from a particular country, or (forbid them -
RT
) to rejoice in victory when their country's anthem is played, is to deprive them of the right to national identity.
This is unfair to Russian athletes and puts them in an unequal position compared to athletes from other countries,” the organization’s official website says.
State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova, in turn, noted that initially the Paralympic Games were a festival open to everyone - regardless of race, gender or nationality, but have now become an instrument of political pressure.
“There were no restrictions.
The philosophy itself was to bring people with disabilities back to life, to instill in them faith in the best.
Now the International Committee is using this for political purposes.
This is unacceptable.
They forgot that first of all they hurt ordinary people who have a dream.
And all the hypocritical statements of Western politicians about human rights and equality simply disappear after such an attitude towards a person, especially with disabilities.
They act savagely.
I would compare their actions to inserting needles under nails,” Zhurova told RT.
Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Sergei Karyakin also agrees with her.
According to the grandmaster, it is impossible to agree to the proposed conditions, since this is discrimination against people with disabilities.
"Terrible.
They have already treated our Paralympic athletes quite badly at the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.
Then they literally kicked out the team, which just flew to China.
I believe that certain conclusions should have been drawn even then and further cooperation with the International Paralympic Committee should have been stopped.
Now I am waiting for a clear position from our state.
They got so involved in politics that they forgot about people.
Their officials talk about human rights and tolerance.
But in fact, all people are equal, and they are more equal.
In this regard, they went too far.
Such people should always be given the opportunity to express themselves, regardless of their origin and especially citizenship,” Karyakin told RT.
At the same time, Olga Bogoslovskaya, silver medalist of the 1992 Olympics in athletics, expected that the IPC conditions would be impossible for the Russians to fulfill.
“This story has been going on since 2016, when McLaren’s report was fabricated and because of it the entire Russian team was suspended from the Games.
And the former president of the IPC said that this decision was so difficult for him... although this is not so.
Now everything is happening in the spirit of those political decisions.
Everything is done as a carbon copy.
So I completely agree with the position of the Russian Paralympic Committee that this is simply discrimination and we are put in unequal conditions with representatives of other states,” the RT specialist emphasized.
Also, according to Bogoslovskaya, similar competitions for athletes can be held in Russia.
“The BRICS Games for athletes with disabilities and the Friendship Games have already been announced.
We saw that the RKR quickly reformed its schedule and held large-scale competitions.
So I’m sure that new formats will be invented,” she noted.
However, the Paralympians themselves do not lose hope of going to Paris and continue to prepare for the Games.
Currently, the size of the delegation can be 225 people, including 125 athletes.
“Their number can change both up and down in accordance with the situation regarding the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions and the procedure for the distribution of direct invitations to the Games by the organizing committees,” the RKR website says.
At the moment, Russians have already been given 42 quotas to participate in the Paralympic swimming Games.
Six of the 22 sports also still have a chance to qualify for the tournament: athletics, shooting, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair tennis and table tennis.
Three more sports will be able to get to Paris only on the basis of direct invitations from the IPC and international sports federations: powerlifting, judo and archery.