Paralympics: Russia remains suspended - selected athletes under neutral flag

Bonn (SID) Selected Russian disabled athletes will be allowed to take part in the Paralympics in Pyeongchang (March 9-18) under a neutral flag. As the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Monday in Bonn, the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) remains suspended due to the state-controlled doping system in Russia, but between 30 and 35 selected athletes will be allowed to take part in the Games in South Korea as "Neutral Paralympians Athletes (NPA)". "Although the RPC remains suspended, it has made great progress and we recognize that," said IPC President Andrew Parsons: "That is why we have decided that Russian athletes who meet strict criteria will take part in the Pyeongchang Games as neutral athletes are allowed to participate." These athletes will compete under the Paralympic flag and the Paralympic anthem will be played for them during ceremonies. Russian disabled athletes from the sports of alpine ski racing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, snowboarding and wheelchair curling will be allowed to take part. In doing so, the IPC is acting similarly to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which also admitted Russian athletes under a neutral flag for the Winter Games in Pyeongchang (February 9th to 25th). In contrast to the IOC, the IPC does not use the term “Russia” in the team name. At the Winter Olympics, the Russian team is called "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR). The IPC suspended the RPC in August 2016 and linked the lifting of the ban to the fulfillment of a list of criteria. These include, among other things, the full resumption of the Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA by the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA as well as official recognition of the McLaren report, which attests that Russia has an institutionalized doping system. Neither has happened yet. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, unlike the IOC, the IPC excluded all Russian disabled athletes because of the state-controlled doping system.

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Paralympics: Russia remains suspended - selected athletes under neutral flag

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