The International Paralympic Committee has performed a U-turn on their decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics and will not welcome competitors from either nation.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the IPC announced on Wednesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus would be permitted to compete at the Beijing Games as neutrals, and they would not be included in the medal table.
However, the "rapidly escalating situation" has led the IPC to reconsider, and the governing body has now announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be refused entry after several countries threatened to boycott the Games.
A statement from IPC president Andrew Parsons read: "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.
"The IPC is a membership-based organisation, and we are receptive to the views of our member organisations. When our members elected the board in December 2021 it was to maintain and uphold the principles, values, and rules of the Paralympic Movement. As board members that is a responsibility and duty we take extremely seriously.
"In taking 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.
"However, what is clear is that the rapidly escalating situation has now put us in a unique and impossible position so close to the start of the Games. Yesterday we said we would continue to listen, and that is what we are doing.
"In the last 12 hours an overwhelming number of members have been in touch with us and been very open, for which I am grateful. They have told us that if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
"Multiple NPCs, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete. Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating and has now become untenable.
"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 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.
"I hope and pray that we can get back to a situation when the talk and focus is fully on the power of sport to transform the lives of persons with disabilities, and the best of humanity."
The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games will begin with the opening ceremony on Friday, and Russian athletes who competed as neutrals in 2018 scooped a total of 24 medals, putting them second in the table behind the USA.
Ben Knapton
