Russians and Belarusians will be able to participate in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the Beijing-2022 Winter Paralympics, which start this Friday (4) and will be played until the next 13th, in China.

The decision was communicated by the International Paralympic Committee this Wednesday morning (2).

Russians and Belarusians will compete as neutral athletes, under the Paralympic flag and anthem, and will not be included in the Games medal table.

Competitors from Russia will also have to cover the Russian Paralympic Committee shield on their uniforms during official contests and ceremonies. Belarusians will have to cover the country’s flags.

At a general meeting of the International Paralympic Committee, which will be held in 2022, the entity will decide whether to suspend or withdraw the membership of the national Paralympic committees of the two nations.

“The board [do comitê] also joined in its condemnation of the governments of Russia and Belarus for violating the UN resolution in the opening week of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. The board also agreed that the violation of the Olympic Truce cannot go unpunished,” the organization said in a statement.

“Our decision was for the harshest punishment we can give under our constitution and the current rules of the International Paralympic Committee. After Beijing 2022, we will discuss with the 206 organizations that make up the committee to determine whether any breach of the Olympic Truce in future editions of the Paralympic Games could lead to the possible suspension or disaffiliation of a national committee,” said committee chairman Andrew Parsons.

Also according to the committee, the Ukrainian delegation that will participate in the Paralympics arrived safely in China this Wednesday, news celebrated by the entity.