Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin has announced that the country will appeal against the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to ban all Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
After initially ruling that athletes would be allowed to compete under a neutral banner and with no place on the medal table, the IPC reversed their decision on Wednesday amid a wave of backlash and threats of boycotts.
“In taking our decision yesterday we were looking at the long-term health and survival of the Paralympic movement,” said IPC president Andrew Parsons.
“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.
“To the Para athletes from [Russia and Belarus], 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.”
On Thursday, Matytsin claimed the IPC’s decision was a “blatant violation of athletes’ rights and a manipulation of the Olympic Charter and human lives’ values in pursuit of political goals”.
The sports minister said Russian officials were currently in the process of drafting a lawsuit with the aim of having a fast-tracked appeal heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“It is extremely inadmissible to put in action any type of sanctions in regard to Paralympians, who have already arrived for the tournament,” Matytsin continued.
Valerii Sushkevych, president of Ukraine’s National Paralympic Committee, welcomed Parsons’ announcement of the ban yesterday, saying: “I want to thank you very much for the vote of IPC for making a very important decision today for all our team, that Russia and Belarus must leave the Paralympic Games.”
Sushkevych added that Ukraine’s presence at the Games was “a miracle”.
“I want to say that we went from Ukraine and through all of Ukraine for many days,” he said. “We overcame a lot of barriers on the way. Many members of our team had to escape while there was bombardment and shells exploding. It is a miracle that we have made it to the Paralympics.
“A superpower wants to destroy my country, our country, and our presence at the Paralympic Games is not merely about being here. This is a sign that Ukraine was and will remain a country. It is a symbol that Ukraine is alive.
“We came here to defend peace in Ukraine and peace around the world. This terrible war must be stopped.”
The British Paralympic Association also welcomed the IPC’s decision, saying in a statement: “Given the horror of what is happening in Ukraine, we believe they have made the correct decision for these Games and is in line with the values of the Paralympic movement.
“ParalympicsGB athletes can now focus on the competition for which they have trained so hard and their welfare has been at the forefront of our thinking. We continue to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and our friends at NPC Ukraine.”
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