Russians to compete as neutral athletes at 2024 Paralympics
Russians will be able to compete as individual or neutral athletes at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Sept. 29.
The IPC voted in favor of a partial suspension of National Paralympic Committee of Russia, after a motion to fully suspend the Russian NPC was rejected.
While 65 members of the IPC voted for the full suspension of Russia, with 74 voted against this motion, and 13 abstained.
The next vote saw 90 members vote in favor of a partial suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee, with 56 against, and six abstentions. This allows Russian athletes to compete, but not under the Russian flag.
Both the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees were previously suspended at an Extraordinary General Assembly of the IPC in November 2022.
The membership status of Belarus will be discussed later on Sept. 29.
On Sept. 26, the Ukrainian Association of Football condemned the decision by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to return Russia's U17 teams to international competitions and said Ukraine would boycott games involving Russia.
The Ukrainian Association called for preserving the previous decision by UEFA and the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) not to allow the participation of Russian teams in international matches.
Many Russian athletes have a direct affiliation with the Russian military and National Guard, according to Ukrainian investigative journalists from Slidstvo.Info.
Anastasiya Gordiychuk
