Athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to participate in Paris in 2024. at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Paralympics. This was reported by the Russian service of Deutsche Welle.
It is noted that according to the document published by the Governing Council of the International Paralympic Committee, athletes from Russia and Belarus will participate in the Games in a neutral status and will be designated as NPA, Neutral Paralympic Athletes. The delegations of both countries will be able to attend the opening and closing ceremonies only as spectators.
Awards won by athletes of the Russian Federation and Belarus will not be counted in the total number of medals. The state emblems of both countries will be banned, and the athletes will compete under a white flag with black NPA letters. In case of winning gold, the Paralympic anthem will be played during the award ceremony.
The athletes of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are deprived of the opportunity to participate in many international competitions under the flag of their countries, due to the military operations carried out by Russia in Ukraine and Minsk’s support for them. The International Olympic Committee, however, allowed those athletes who did not publicly defend these military operations to compete in neutral status and only in individual competitions.
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