The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) will boycott the entry of the nations at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in protest against the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus.
As the association announced, Team D will not send any athletes or officials to the Amphitheater in Verona. This decision serves “both to concentrate on the upcoming competitions and to respectfully express the solidarity attitude towards the Ukrainian delegation.”
However, this does not constitute a complete boycott of the opening ceremony. The Germany Paralympics team will “participate as planned” in the recordings recorded in advance at the various venues, which will be shown in the stadium and on television during the ceremony. With these measures, the German team combines “sporting focus with a clearly values-based position,” the press release continues.
For the DBS, the perspective of “its athletes has the highest priority. Their assessments as well as their responsibility towards sporting competition and the values of the Paralympic Movement were comprehensively taken into account in the decision-making process.” Most recently, the association president rejected a boycott. Hans-Jörg Michels told the SID that he doesn’t think “anything” about it: “We’ve seen in the past that it basically doesn’t do anything for the sport.”
Six wild cards for Russian athletes
But now the U-turn followed, including harsh criticism of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). “The decision of the IPC General Assembly in September 2025 and the judgment of the CAS expressly did not contain any obligation to award starting places to these nations,” wrote the DBS: “The IPC decision poses a particular challenge to the Paralympic Movement.” In February, the IPC awarded six wildcards to Russian athletes who are now competing under their own flag. Belarus also got four starting places.
“In view of current developments, it is all the more important to preserve the core of the Paralympic idea: fair competitions in a peaceful environment in which athletes from all over the world can present their achievements and personal stories,” emphasized the DBS: “Especially in challenging times, it remains our common task to visibly live the Paralympic values and resolutely protect the integrity of the sport.”
In addition to Ukraine, other nations such as Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic had previously announced a boycott of the opening ceremony.
