International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons speaks to a journalist from Ukraine during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing on March 2, 2022. Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as "neutral athletes" because of their countries' roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday.Andy Wong/The Canadian Press
A decision by the International Paralympic Committee on Wednesday to allow Russians and Belarussians to compete as “neutrals athletes” generated a heart-wrenching reply only hours after it was announced.
Russian athletes had already been slated to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, as punishment for the state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and a subsequent cover-up.
The IPC added more restrictions on the Russians when the Paralympics open on Friday. Belarus was sanctioned for its part in aiding Russia with the invasion and war against Ukraine.
But there was no expulsion. And that hit a nerve.
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At a news conference in Beijing hours after the decision, a reporter who said he worked for the Kyiv Post asked IPC president Andrew Parsons what he would say to the family of young biathlete Yevhen Malyshev.
Malyshev was killed this week in Ukraine, but the exact circumstances of his death are unclear. The International Biathlon Union said Wednesday he “died this week serving in the Ukrainian military.”
“I cannot even start to imagine the pain that his family is feeling at the moment,” Parsons said. “I can only tell them that my deepest thoughts are with them. This is absolutely not fair. It is disgusting. It is against humanity.”
The Ukraine-based reporter said he was the only journalist from the country that had managed to reach Beijing, and he pressed Parsons again to explain why Russians and Belarusians should be allowed to compete – even as neutral athletes. He repeatedly identified them as being from the “aggressor nations.”
Canadian Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge says the IPC is wrong to allow Russian athletes to compete under a neutral banner. She is calling on it to immediately reverse its decision. St-Onge says allowing Russians and Belarusians to take part as neutral athletes puts Canadian Paralympians, and those from around the world, in an unfair position by forcing them to decide whether to compete against them.
A joint statement from the athletes of Ukraine and Global Athlete group, an international athlete-led pressure body, said the IPC issued “another blow” to every Ukrainian athlete and citizen.
“The demands of the athletes have been cast aside in favour of Russian interests,” the statement said. “Sports administrators are choosing bloodshed and profits over principle and stakeholders.”
Germany’s chef de mission Karl Quade, a member of the Paralympic movement since the IPC was founded in 1989, said he was “deeply ashamed” by the decision.
The Swiss Paralympic Committee said it could not comprehend the reasons for allowing the athletes to compete.
“The fact that legal considerations were given priority over moral and political arguments is a major burden for the credibility of the Paralympic movement,” it said in a statement.
IPC spokesman Craig Spence acknowledged the distaste many feel for allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete.
“We have the world’s eyes on us right now, and they may not be agreeing with the decision,” Spence said.
Nadine Dorries, a British minister who is responsible for sports, called it “the wrong decision.”
“They [IPC] must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing,” she said.
Parsons said the decision was not unanimous among his dozen board members, but he said the majority favored it. He did not give a voting breakdown.
Both delegations will be excluded from the medal table, and the IPC said it would not hold events in either country “while the present situation continues.” Parsons called it the “harshest possible punishment we can hand down within our constitution and the current IPC rules.”
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will instead compete under the Paralympic flag and use the Paralympic anthem. The RPC delegation must cover the “RPC” symbol on uniforms in all events and ceremonies. The Belarus delegation must cover its national flag on uniforms.
The IPC said it would also withdraw the “Paralympic Honor” given to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The International Olympic Committee on Monday pushed sports bodies to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events, but it left the final decision to individual governing bodies. The IOC has been slow to crack down on Russia, allowing its athletes to compete in the past four Olympics following the Sochi doping scandal.
The IOC said the action was needed now to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants” but left sports bodies with a way around the exclusion by adding that Russians and Belarusians could compete as neutral athletes or teams if expulsion was not possible because of short notice.
On Wednesday, IOC president Thomas Bach said no sanctions had been taken directly against the Russian Olympic Committee because it was not responsible for the invasion.
The move by the IPC comes as Russia is being barred from competing in a long list of sports, including skating, skiing, soccer, hockey, basketball, track and field, and some tennis events. Some sports like swimming haven’t followed the recommendation from the IOC to ban Russians, instead allowing them to compete as neutral athletes.
The IOC, however, has not removed the membership or leadership positions from Russians in its own organization.
Parsons acknowledged the possibility that some Paralympic athletes might refuse to compete against their counterparts from Russia. He also had said the options for the IPC were “limited” because of the possibility of legal challenges from Russia or elsewhere.
Bach will not attend the Paralympics and has designated Parsons – an IOC member – to represent the body.
The 20-member Ukrainian contingent, accompanied by nine guides, arrived in Beijing on Wednesday following initial fears they may not be able to make it in time for the Games, which run from March 4-13.
While the IPC hasn’t spoken to Ukrainian athletes since the decision, Parsons insisted they were here to compete.
“These athletes have fought the battle of their lives to be here. … This is a difficult moment in the history of the nation and they want to make everyone proud,” he said.
Paralympic officials say 648 athletes and 49 delegations will take part in the Winter Paralympics. There were 2,900 athletes at last month’s Winter Olympics with 91 delegations.
Officials say 71 Russian athletes are expected to compete in the Paralympics, joined by 20 from Ukraine. The entire Ukrainian delegation was expected to arrive in time for Friday’s opening ceremony. The Paralympics close March 13.
With a report from The Canadian Press