Athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus will not be able to attend the opening of the Paralympic Games
March 7, 2024
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, according to regulationspublished by the Board of Governors of the International Paralympic Committee on Wednesday, March 6.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete in the Games in a neutral condition and will be marked as NPA – Neutral Paralympic Athletes. Delegations from both countries will be able to attend the opening and closing ceremonies only as spectators, the document says.
Prizes won by athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus will not be taken into account in the overall medal standings. State symbols of both countries will be banned and athletes will compete under a white flag with black NPA letters. If gold is won, the Paralympic anthem will be played at the awards ceremony.
Athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus are suspended from participating under their countries’ flag in many international competitions related to the war launched by Russia against Ukraine and supported by Minsk. The International Olympic Committee, however, allowed athletes who did not publicly support aggression to compete on a neutral basis and in individual competitions only.
125 Russian athletes can participate in the Games
Earlier, the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) announced that 125 athletes will be able to participate in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, a total of 225 people are included in the Russian delegation. “Their number may increase or decrease in accordance with the situation regarding the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions,” RKR said.
“Six of the 22 sports still have a chance to win quotas in qualifying competitions: athletics, shooting, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair tennis and table tennis. Another 3 sports will be able to reach the Games only through direct invitations from the IPC and the international sports federations: weightlifting, judo and archery,” PKR told Interfax.
Source: DW
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