Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2022 Winter Paralympics as neutrals, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed.
The IPC made the announcement on Wednesday, two days before the nine-day event is scheduled to officially begin in Beijing.
While competitors from Russia and Belarus have been cleared to take part in the global showpiece, they must compete under the Paralympic flag and will not be included in the medal table.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a statement: "The IPC and wider Paralympic Movement is greatly concerned by the gross violation of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarusian governments in the days prior to the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
"The IPC Governing Board is united in its condemnation of these actions and was in agreement that they cannot go unnoticed or unaddressed.
"In deciding what actions the IPC should take, it was fundamental that we worked within the framework of our new constitution to remain politically neutral and within the IPC Handbook, the rules and regulations that govern the Paralympic Movement.
"Such neutrality is firmly anchored in the genuine belief that sport holds the transformative power to overcome our shortcomings and summon from within us the best of our humanity, especially in the darkest of moments.
"What we have decided upon is the harshest possible punishment we can hand down within our constitution and the current IPC rules."
The announcement comes six days on from Russian president Vladimir Putin ordering an invasion of Ukraine, with neighbouring Belarus effectively used as a staging post for Russian military.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week called for athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to be prevented from taking part in all international sporting competitions.
In a statement issued on Monday, the IOC's executive board accused the governments of Russia and Belarus of a "breach of the Olympic Truce" following the attack on Ukraine.
Referencing that statement, Parsons declared further sanctions may follow, with the IPC confirming members will be invited to decide whether to suspend or terminate the membership of the two nations.
"Post-Beijing 2022, we will also take measures with our 206 member organisations to determine whether any breaches of the Olympic Truce for future Paralympic Games could lead to the possible suspension or termination of an NPC [National Paralympic Committee]," he said.
"It is deeply disappointing that such action is required. However, the IPC Governing Board believes it to be necessary in order to hold governments to account for actions that impact directly on the Paralympic Movement, the Paralympic Games and Paralympic athletes.
"This is especially so given the origins of the Paralympic Movement, arising out of the horrific events of the Second World War.
"Now that this decision has been made, I expect all participating NPCs to treat the neutral athletes as they would any other athletes at these Games, no matter how difficult this may be.
"Unlike their respective governments, these Paralympic athletes and officials are not the aggressors, they are here to compete in a sport event like everybody else.
"The eyes of the world will be watching the Paralympic Winter Games in the coming days. It is vital we show to world leaders through our sport that we can unite as human beings and that our true power is found when promoting peace, understanding and inclusion.
"This is at the core of what the Paralympic Movement does and what it stands for. We should not lose sight of this now, no matter what the circumstances."
The World Athletics Council announced on Tuesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be excluded from all World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future.
A number of other sporting federations, including FIFA and UEFA, have also banned teams and athletes from the eastern European countries.
On this day 2016: Kadeena Cox makes history with cycling gold at Rio Paralympics
Kadeena Cox won C4/C5 500 metres time-trial gold in Rio on this day in 2016 to become the first Briton in 28 years to secure medals in two sports at the same Paralympics.
The then-25-year-old’s velodrome triumph saw her emulate Isabel Barr’s Seoul 1988 success as she added to the T38 100m bronze she had claimed on the athletics track.
Cox was tearful on the podium, recalling her two-year journey from stroke symptoms in May 2014 which were later diagnosed as MS, a progressive disease which made her determined to compete in two sports in Rio.
“I’m just so happy that I’ve finally done it and I’ve got so far – this time two years ago I was at home, about to go into hospital to get my MS diagnosis,” she said.
“To have come this far in such a short period of time is just a relief. I’m glad that I’ve done it.
“A lot of people thought I wouldn’t be able to and there were moments when I doubted myself.
“But I knew when the classification got changed, it was going to be the point where I worked my hardest.
“I absolutely dug in and gave it everything.
“I knew on my day I’d be good enough to beat anyone and I’ve done it.”
World champion Cox won the C4/C5 500 metres time-trial gold in a world record of 35.716 seconds.
The event was factored in her favour, so her time was rounded down to 34.598secs, but she was quicker than everyone else regardless.
Cox went on to seal athletics gold with victory in the T38 400m final to make it a treble of medals in Rio and won two further cycling golds at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
On this day in 2012: Teenager Jonnie Peacock wins Paralympic 100m gold in London
British teenager Jonnie Peacock was crowned the fastest amputee on earth when he claimed Paralympic gold in London on this day 11 years ago.
Peacock upstaged Oscar Pistorius in the most eagerly-anticipated race of the Paralympics to take the 100 metres crown in the T44 category on September 6, 2012.
The then 19-year-old from Cambridge showed no regard for reputations as he stormed away from the field to win in 10.90 seconds, a new Paralympic record.
Pistorius, then the world’s most famous Paralympian prior to being jailed for the murder of his girlfriend in South Africa, did not even make the podium.
Peacock came into the Games as the T44 world record holder but inexperienced on the big stage.
He proved he could more than handle the occasion, dealing with a faulty start and even trying to quieten the chants of ‘Peacock, Peacock, Peacock’ that rang around the stadium before the start.
He said: “I didn’t know who would get a bigger cheer, Oscar Pistorius or me, because he is such a legend. It feels like I’m on top of this world the way we’ve been performing here.
“I haven’t been nervous. I was doing my strides in warm-up and I was ready. I felt on form, I knew I had it in me.
“I am a little bit (disappointed I didn’t go faster). The form I’ve been in in the last few weeks, it is a bit of a shame. But, to come out on this stage, it really was a mental battle more than anything else.”
Only American Richard Browne could get close to the Briton, claiming silver in 11.03secs on what was a glorious night for the home nation, with David Weir and Hannah Cockcroft also winning gold.
Peacock went on to defend his crown at the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil, where he reclaimed the world record he had subsequently lost to Browne in 10.81secs.
Reclassified to T64 for the Tokyo Games, he dramatically shared the bronze medal with German Johannes Floors.
Welsh para table tennis pair could face off for ‘golden ticket’ to Paris
As the world’s leading players eye Paralympic gold, the battle for supremacy in one para table tennis class could come down to a clash of two Welsh friends.
Wheelchair athletes Rob Davies and Tom Matthews are both training partners and rivals and, as two of the best in the game, have their sights set on the same top prize.
Davies, a two-time Paralympian, gold medallist in Rio seven years ago and winner of four European titles, is the more experienced of the pair.
But after a two-year injury lay-off that forced him to miss the Tokyo Games, the 39-year-old has had a long battle to get back to the summit.
In the meantime, Matthews, 31, has firmly asserted his credentials in the class one category, claiming bronze on his Paralympic debut in Japan and repeating that result at last year’s World Championships.
Both are ranked in the world’s top 10 and will be favourites at next week’s European Championships in Sheffield, where a precious qualification spot for Paris 2024 will be on the line.
“We’re team-mates and rivals in the competition,” Davies told the PA news agency. “We have a good bit of banter. He beats me and I beat him – that’s how it goes.
“Whether it’s me or him that gets the medal it’ll be really nice. I wish him well, he wishes me well and hopefully we can meet in the final.
“It’s been a long road back for me for the last two years. I had a medical problem that affected my nervous system and I wasn’t able to defend my title in Tokyo.
“That was really upsetting but I’ve been battling back. I was losing to people I’m not used to losing to but I’m finally getting up to the standard I’m used to now.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. Paris has been my motivation to come back. I know I’m coming towards the end of my career but I’ve got something to prove and I want to go there and prove it.”
The pair have met plenty of times, both in training and more seriously, with Matthews’ victory in the Czech Open final this summer among their more high-profile recent encounters.
“It is a friendly rivalry,” said Aberdare’s Matthews. “I’m based in the Valleys and he’s up in Brecon, so we both train at Sport Wales in Cardiff.
“Off the table we are friendly. He is a really good guy and I respect him highly for what he has achieved in his career. Recently I came out on top but we know each other’s games inside out, so it could sway either way on the day.
“Hopefully we can meet in the final and make it a British one-two, but I’m hoping I come out on top!
“That’s the main aim. If you win the Europeans you get automatic qualification for Paris and I want to get that golden ticket.
“I obviously want to win the Paralympic Games – I’ve achieved winning a Paralympic medal and I haven’t got the right colour for myself yet – but the Europeans are next and that’s the only thing on my radar at the moment.
“I’ll take it match by match but I really want to win this one.”
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