“At the IPC, we firmly believe that sport and politics should not mix,” said President Andrew Parsons on Thursday. “However, the war has come to these games through no fault of our own and behind the scenes many governments are influencing our cherished event.” The escalating situation has “put the IPC in a unique and impossible position”.
After all, the pressure from the member associations had become too great. “Several Paralympic National Committees, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete,” Parsons said. if we don’t reconsider our decision.”
“Situation escalating in athletes’ villages”
Since the decision to admit the Russian and Belarusian athletes, “the situation in the athletes’ villages has escalated and has now become untenable,” said Parsons, explaining the about-face. Parsons apologized to the athletes from Russia and Belarus. “They are victims of the actions of their governments,” said the Brazilian. A total of 83 athletes are affected by the exclusion.
The IPC had received a lot of criticism for its original decision the day before to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag, including from the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS). It is “incomprehensible,” emphasized Chef de Mission Karl Quade, “that the IPC makes a completely different decision than the vast majority of the sports world. I have been a member of the Paralympic movement since the IPC was founded in 1989, but I am ashamed of this decision deeply.”
Criticism from Ukraine also at the IOC
Athletes from Ukraine in particular reacted with great incomprehension to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. “While Russian and Belarusian bombs are raining down on citizens of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee has dealt another blow to every Ukrainian athlete today,” said a joint statement by the “Athletes of Ukraine” and the sports alliance Global Athlete. “The authoritarian regimes will use every ounce of their athletes’ success to distract from their brutal war,” it said.
The Ukraine Athletes and Global Athlete also took a hard stab at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “Today’s decision is another example of the stranglehold that the IOC has on the IPC. It has influenced this decision,” it said. The officials put “bloodshed and profit above principles and interest groups”.
The IOC had supported the IPC’s controversial decision. “This decision is in line with the overarching recommendations. We have full respect for this decision,” said IOC President Thomas Bach in a media round.
Source: red