IPC Rules Against Bid by Russian Paralympians to Compete as Neutral Athletes

© AFP 2023 / VASILY MAXIMOV Paralympic swimmer Alexander Makarov, Russia's Paralympic national team, swims during a training session in the town of Ruza, 100 km west of Moscow
Paralympic swimmer Alexander Makarov, Russia's Paralympic national team, swims during a training session in the town of Ruza, 100 km west of Moscow - Sputnik International
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The International Paralympic Committee on Thursday banned more than 175 Russian athletes from the September 7-18 Rio Paralympics, rejecting their individual requests to compete as neutral athletes, the committee said in a press release.

Russian Paralympic swimming team during training session - Sputnik International
Banning Russian Paralympians From Rio is 'Unfair, Inhumane Act' - Official
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Gonzalez also stressed that the IPC would welcome Russian athletes back to international competitions "once the Russian Paralympic Committee demonstrates that it will be able in the future to enforce the IPC Anti-Doping Code vigorously and effectively, without interference."

"The IPC has considerable sympathy for all of the Russian athletes who are now unable to participate in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Indeed, the main goal of the IPC is to enable Para athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world. Tragically, however, the Russian authorities have denied their athletes this chance through their actions," Xavier Gonzalez, the IPC’s chief executive officer, was quoted as saying in the press release.

Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Russia's appeal against the IPC ban on the Russian team's participation in the September 7-18 Rio Paralympics. Russia appealed the CAS ruling in the Swiss Federal Supreme Court but that appeal was also rejected.

The ban, announced on August 7, was mainly influenced by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) McLaren report on the alleged widespread use of performance enhancing substances by Russian athletes. The report, however, hardly mentioned Russian Paralympic athletes, apart from in relation to a list of 35 allegedly disappeared doping samples.

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