Russian, Belarusian Athletes Banned from Paralympics After Ruling Reversal

Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been banned from the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing amid the Russian government's military invasion of Ukraine. 

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons issued a statement on Thursday about the ruling. 

"The war has now come to these Games, and behind the scenes, many governments are having an influence on our cherished event," Parsons said. "We were trying to protect the Games from war."

Thursday's ruling comes one day after the IPC announced athletes from both countries would be allowed to participate in the Games: 

"The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board met on Wednesday (2 March) to discuss how the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarus governments is impacting the Paralympic Games and the wider Paralympic Movement."

"The IPC Board expressed its concerns and sympathies for Ukrainian athletes and citizens alike, and shared its delight that the full delegation of the Ukrainian Paralympic Team arrived safely in Beijing earlier today."

Parsons noted a key factor in reversing the decision was the negative reaction in athletes village to letting athletes from Russia and Belarus compete, calling it a "very volatile environment."

"It was a very rapid escalation, which we did not think was going to happen," he added. "We did not think that entire delegations, or even teams within delegations, will withdraw, will boycott, will not participate."

According to Parsons, the IPC is anticipating the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic committees could take legal action. The Russian committee called the ruling "baseless" and "illegal."

The decision comes with Russia's invasion of Ukraine into its eighth day. Belarus was used as a staging post for Russian forces to invade Ukraine from the north.

Per Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, 2,000 civilians in Ukraine have died since the invasion began on Feb. 24. 

Per Stephen Wade of the Associated Press, some athletes refused to participate in the Games if athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete. 

Wade noted there were a total of 83 athletes from Russia (71) and Belarus (12) who were set to participate in the Beijing Paralympics. 

The 2022 Paralympics are scheduled to begin on March 4 in Beijing, China.