Russia is planning to appeal against the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) decision to ban the country's athletes from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, according to Oleg Matytsin, the country's Minister of Sport.
The IPC confirmed the decision to bar both Russian and Belarusian Paralympians from the games on Thursday, reversing an earlier announcement that they would be able to participate as neutrals.
Russia's ban was announced just a day before the Beijing Games are scheduled to begin, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had called for such a measure in the face of international pressure and boycott threats from athletes.
Matytsin, speaking to the state-owned news agency TASS, confirmed that Russia is now working on an emergency appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"We are currently working to establish our legal position to file lawsuits on the protection of our athletes' rights, against the discrimination of athletes based on their ethnicity and the use of sports as a tool of a political pressure," he said.
"Today's decision of the International Paralympic Committee to bar our team is a blatant violation of athletes' rights and a manipulation of the Olympic Charter and human lives' values in pursuit of political goals.
"It is extremely inadmissible to put in action any type of sanctions with regard to [Russia's] Paralympians, who have already arrived for the tournament.
"We are drafting a lawsuit to be considered before the Opening Ceremony and the actual start [of the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games]."
The IPC's decision came one week after Russia invaded Ukraine and means that a 71-strong team of Russian Paralympians will be forced to sit out the Games, barring the success of an appeal.
Ukraine, meanwhile, will have 29 representatives in Beijing, while Russian athletes or teams have also been hit with bans by bodies such as the World Athletics Council, FIFA and UEFA, as the international sporting community attempts to apply pressure to the nation.
IOC denies dragging its heels over decision on Russians and Belarusians for Paris 2024 Olympics
Thomas Bach denied the International Olympic Committee is biding its time over deciding whether Russia and Belarus athletes can compete at Paris 2024 amounted to "kicking it down the road".
IOC president Bach spoke on Tuesday at a press conference after interim recommendations were issued to international federations and organisers of events regarding the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in events while war in Ukraine continues.
The Olympic body urged federations to exclude any athletes or support personnel "who actively support the war", along with anybody "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies", and said teams from either country should not be allowed to compete in international sport for now.
However, in a statement, the IOC said: "Sports organisations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports."
There is a clear possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics next year, although Bach stressed there has been no decision taken on that matter, explaining it has yet to be discussed by the IOC executive board.
Bach said the IOC was going along with a United Nations position, and when asked whether Olympic chiefs were simply waiting for the war to end, and holding fire on direct action until then, he refuted the contention.
"We are not kicking it down the road, and we are not waiting," Bach said. "I guess we all would like the war to end now, and this is what we are calling for, but as you can see for all the reasons we are giving the conditions are not related to the development of the war, they are related to the respect of the Olympic charter and the Olympic values, and there we have to address these questions whether somebody is actively supporting the war in whichever way."
Bach said a decision regarding next year's Olympics would be made "at the appropriate time", without indicating when that might be, saying it was important to monitor the latest recommendations "for as long as possible" before taking "an informed decision".
He said there was no timeline because "nobody knows what's happening tomorrow or in one week or in nine months, so we have just to monitor and then find the appropriate time".
Bach knows there is unease in some quarters about the IOC not taking a firm decision.
When asked about Russia being happy its athletes were being able to compete, and Ukraine being unhappy with the situation, Bach said: "We have been accused by the Russian side of being agents of the United States, and we have been accused by Ukrainian side of being promoters of the war, so we appear to be somewhere in the middle."
Shiffrin smashes more World Cup records with season-ending giant slalom win
Mikaela Shiffrin continued her record-breaking run with a 21st career giant slalom victory and 88th FIS Alpine World Cup triumph on Sunday.
American Shiffrin became the greatest skier of all time as she surpassed Ingemar Stenmark's haul of 86 World Cup wins with a giant slalom triumph last week in Are.
The 28-year-old laid down further benchmarks in Andorra, defeating Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund by 0.06 seconds as Canada's Valerie Grenier finished in third.
That victory saw Shiffrin set the record for women's World Cup giant slalom wins, surpassing Vreni Schneider's 20, as she claimed a record-extending 88th overall triumph at the competition.
Shiffrin also moved past Lindsey Vonn as the woman with the most podium finishes in World Cup races, just a day after equalling the record, but says her most important achievement came nine years ago.
"Honestly, I think probably being the youngest Olympic slalom champion," Shiffrin, who was 18 when she won her first Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, said when asked about her greatest record.
"That was really the only record that I actually ever wanted, like really shot for.
"It happened quite some time ago, and I'm still motivated today; I still had that nervous feeling up there. I was so nervous at the start ... because you want to do well.
"And it doesn't matter about records. It's just you want to do well."
Shiffrin was interviewed by her boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the men's World Cup downhill champion, and somewhat lost for words when asked about her next plans after an incredible season.
"I don't know, you guys tell me. Just keep moving right along," she responded, before joking to Kilde: "We can discuss that later, in private."
Another remarkable outing meant Shiffrin finished with a career-best World Cup points tally of 2,206, only Slovenian Tina Maze's 2,414 in 2013 marks a better return in the all-time rankings.
Revolutionary Olympic high jumper Dick Fosbury dies aged 76
Olympic gold medallist Dick Fosbury, who revolutionised the high jump with his 'Fosbury Flop' technique, has died at the age of 76.
Fosbury won a gold medal for the United States at the 1968 games in Mexico City using a novel back-first technique that is commonplace among high jumpers today.
By clearing 2.24 metres with the technique – which he began to experiment with in school – in the event's final, Fosbury set a then-Olympic and United States record.
Fosbury's agent Ray Schulte confirmed his death on Instagram on Monday, writing: "It is with a very heavy heart I have to release the news that longtime friend and client Dick Fosbury passed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning after a short bout with a recurrence of lymphoma."
USA Track & Field, the nation's athletics governing body, called Fosbury "a true legend and innovator" on Twitter, adding: "Fosbury's legacy will live on for generations to come."
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach also paid tribute, saying: "Dick Fosbury wrote unforgettable Olympic history by revolutionising the high jump at the Olympic Games Mexico 1968.
"The games would never be the same again after he won the gold medal at those games, 'flopping' across the bar.
"Dick Fosbury was always true to the Olympic values and served the Olympic movement in a number of functions, including as president of the World Olympians Association.
"He will forever be remembered as an outstanding Olympic champion. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
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