The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), after an extraordinary general meeting held this Thursday, decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes do not compete in the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing (China) due to threats from other countries not to participate if they are .
The severity of the International Paralympic Committee
The IPC’s decision comes just one day after another meeting in Beijing decided that Russians and Belarusians would participate as neutrals in the Games. The IPC thus follows the guidelines given by the IOC, which first asked all international federations to cancel their competitions in Russia and Belarus and then urged that their athletes be excluded from international tournaments, in these cases the Paralympic Games that are held between March 4 and 13.
“The change in the position of the IPC is due to the fact that in the last twelve hours a large number of countries have contacted us and asked us that if we do not reconsider our decision there would be likely to be serious consequences for the Winter Paralympic Games. of Beijing, threatening not to compete”said the president of the IPC, the Brazilian Andrew Parsons, at a press conference.
“At the IPC we firmly believe that sport and politics should not mix. However, through no fault of their own, the war has now come to these Games and, behind the scenes, many governments are influencing our prized event. The IPC is a member-serving organization and we are receptive to feedback from our organizations,” he stated.
“In making our decision yesterday we were looking at the long-term health and survival of the Paralympic movement. We are fiercely proud of the principles and values that have made the movement what it is today. What is clear, however, is that the rapidly escalating situation has now put us in a unique and impossible position so close to the start of the Games.”
“Ensuring the safety of the athletes is of the utmost importance to us and the situation in the athletes’ villages has become untenable. We have to ensure that in the sport practiced within the Paralympic movement the spirit of fair play prevails and violence is prohibited. “, he stated.
“With this in mind, and in order to preserve the integrity of these Games and the safety of all participants, we have decided to refuse the entry of athletes from Russia and Belarus. To the athletes of the affected countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions that your governments took last week to violate the Olympic Truce. You are victims of the actions of your governments,” he concluded.
EFE
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