Russian Federation is holding a two-day contest for its Paralympic team, an opening ceremony to kick start what Moscow calls an alternative to the Paralympic Games in Rio.
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There are six categories at the Paralympics; amputee athletes, Cerebral Palsy athletes, vision impaired athletes, wheelchair athletes, intellectual impairment and Les Autres – French for “the others”, which in this case is disabilities not covered by the five other categories.
“We are all sending our honest greetings to the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro since we are all brothers and sisters and in the Paralympic family and wish that the Games there will be good”, the RPC (Russian Paralympic Committee) president Vladimir Lukin was quoted as saying.
Since 1988 the Paralympics have taken place during the same summer and at the same venue as the corresponding Olympics.
An estimated 2,700 male and 1650 female athletes from more than 160 countries are set to compete in 528 medal events across 22 sports over the next 11 days of sporting action.
There was a remarkable moment as the ceremony drew to a close, the crowd expressing their frustration during the speeches of Brazil president Michel Temer and Olympic Committee boss Carlos Arthur Nuzman amid political issues in the country.
The opening ceremony of the nationwide open competition was held in Moscows Crocus City Hall on Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported.
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Russian Federation lost an appeal against the IPC over the blanket ban from the Rio Paralympics after allegations that Russian Federation had covered up hundreds of doping cases.
