11 months before the start of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) authorized Russian athletes to participate in the competition but under a neutral banner. Concerning the Olympic Games, the IOC has not yet taken a position, postponing its decision until the “appropriate time”.
Russian athletes were authorized to participate under a neutral banner in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris (August 28-September 8), after two votes from the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Friday afternoon in Manama (Bahrain). ). After rejecting the complete suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee (74 against 65, 13 abstentions), the IPC voted in favor of a partial suspension (90 against 56, 6 abstentions). Russian athletes can thus participate “individually” and “neutrally” in the Paralympic Games in Paris in eleven months.
The IPC must decide a little later on the status of member of the Belarusian Paralympic committee.
No decision yet regarding the Olympics
This position adopted on Friday for Russia is close to the recommendation made on March 28, 2023 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to international federations, to authorize the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, as neutral individual athletes, in competitions. international. The IOC, however, did not take a position on the 2024 Olympics, postponing its decision “at the appropriate time”.
The French Paralympic and Sports Committee “now supports the IPC Executive Committee, which is responsible for determining the conditions of participation, on a case-by-case basis, for Russian and Belarusian athletes, under a neutral banner. It remains very vigilant regarding the attitude authorities and athletes concerned in order to preserve the Paralympic competitions”, reacted the body in a press release.
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on February 24, 2022, the IPC decided not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing that same year. On November 16, 2022, the IPC general assembly meeting in Berlin suspended the Russian and Belarusian national Paralympic committees for one year.