The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is issuing a blanket ban on Russian athletes as punishment for the country’s systematic doping program.
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The exclusion was announced by the International Paralympic Committee after evidence that the sample-swapping and cover-up of positive tests organised by the Russian sports ministry in Olympic sports also operated with Paralympic athletes.
During his announcement in Rio de Janeiro, International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven put the blame squarely on Russia’s government.
Russian Federation has one of the strongest Paralympic delegations in the world, having won 102 total medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, coming in second after China.
The IPC decision follows revelations of widespread cheating in Russian sport which ignited a doping scandal that has threatened to split the Olympic movement and cost dozens of Russian sportspeople their place at the Rio Games.
Russia’s years of doping deception, including the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, were exposed by WADA investigator Richard McLaren last month.
Russian Federation won a staggering 80 out of 216 available medals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics, including 30 out of 72 golds. They are an unprecedented attack on every clean athlete.
“This situation is not about athletes cheating the system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes”.
“It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport”.
The Paralympic Games, conducted for athletes with a range of physical disabilities, are expected to attract more than 4,300 entrants from 160 countries to compete in 22 sports.
Instead, the IOC asked global federations for various sports to consider the eligibility of individual athletes.
In the end, more than 270 Russian athletes were cleared to compete at the Olympics. I don’t think it will have the same political statement that it would if the Olympic athletes were banned.
“I’ve hardly slept these last five nights being torn between what would happen to certain athletes and the implications of the decision”, the 66-year-old Englishman said.
Joining Craven at the news conference was Todd Nicholson, the IPC athletes council chairperson, who said he could “only imagine the disappointment Russian athletes must feel at this decision”.
What can not be forgotten in all the politicking is that it is the Russian athletes who ultimately are collectively punished, something Bach has insisted on a number of occasions he is very wary of.
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Tass also reported that Olga Zabelinskaya, who won cycling bronze medals in the road race and time trial at London 2012, is now eligible to compete, as is her fellow cyclist Sergei Shilov.
