Berliner Boersenzeitung - Russian athletes allowed to compete at Winter Paralympics

EUR -
AED 4.311383
AFN 80.689649
ALL 97.605582
AMD 450.665792
ANG 2.100733
AOA 1076.366783
ARS 1503.320158
AUD 1.788675
AWG 2.115171
AZN 2.000105
BAM 1.958914
BBD 2.371952
BDT 143.608298
BGN 1.957467
BHD 0.442417
BIF 3501.556007
BMD 1.173791
BND 1.505231
BOB 8.117077
BRL 6.527432
BSD 1.174707
BTN 101.670628
BWP 15.772141
BYN 3.844443
BYR 23006.303709
BZD 2.359712
CAD 1.609104
CDF 3391.08264
CHF 0.933305
CLF 0.028613
CLP 1122.485065
CNY 8.397349
CNH 8.412807
COP 4823.694137
CRC 593.458604
CUC 1.173791
CUP 31.105462
CVE 110.44057
CZK 24.558412
DJF 208.606599
DKK 7.464119
DOP 71.275738
DZD 151.988957
EGP 57.621523
ERN 17.606865
ETB 163.480167
FJD 2.63364
FKP 0.867917
GBP 0.874111
GEL 3.181432
GGP 0.867917
GHS 12.275515
GIP 0.867917
GMD 84.51337
GNF 10194.20599
GTQ 9.016487
GYD 245.770708
HKD 9.214084
HNL 30.7599
HRK 7.535274
HTG 154.157695
HUF 396.267195
IDR 19199.699478
ILS 3.936138
IMP 0.867917
INR 101.477641
IQD 1538.846343
IRR 49431.278201
ISK 142.205233
JEP 0.867917
JMD 187.377879
JOD 0.832264
JPY 173.277422
KES 151.65826
KGS 102.476414
KHR 4705.600881
KMF 491.235989
KPW 1056.390967
KRW 1622.842408
KWD 0.358406
KYD 0.978956
KZT 640.133998
LAK 25323.905293
LBP 105255.769578
LKR 354.44555
LRD 235.526429
LSL 20.849455
LTL 3.4659
LVL 0.710015
LYD 6.341081
MAD 10.563593
MDL 19.75841
MGA 5188.380707
MKD 61.660124
MMK 2464.391977
MNT 4210.728168
MOP 9.497699
MRU 46.88253
MUR 53.302294
MVR 18.08077
MWK 2036.938173
MXN 21.788735
MYR 4.955163
MZN 75.07563
NAD 20.848744
NGN 1798.166097
NIO 43.224111
NOK 11.929526
NPR 162.676769
NZD 1.952267
OMR 0.451318
PAB 1.174697
PEN 4.160171
PGK 4.86874
PHP 67.07868
PKR 332.893353
PLN 4.249499
PYG 8798.987976
QAR 4.282007
RON 5.069725
RSD 117.180775
RUB 93.140377
RWF 1697.999353
SAR 4.403405
SBD 9.72497
SCR 17.240676
SDG 704.865814
SEK 11.17574
SGD 1.503357
SHP 0.922415
SLE 26.938939
SLL 24613.815124
SOS 671.378747
SRD 43.035291
STD 24295.10394
STN 24.539638
SVC 10.27834
SYP 15262.668311
SZL 20.841487
THB 38.028525
TJS 11.21853
TMT 4.120006
TND 3.429452
TOP 2.74914
TRY 47.599343
TTD 7.987903
TWD 34.599882
TZS 3007.84067
UAH 49.117383
UGX 4211.839198
USD 1.173791
UYU 47.054804
UZS 14863.629091
VES 141.17584
VND 30688.76584
VUV 140.241829
WST 3.213239
XAF 657.018271
XAG 0.030697
XAU 0.000352
XCD 3.172229
XCG 2.11712
XDR 0.814652
XOF 657.001452
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.825369
ZAR 20.847679
ZMK 10565.531807
ZMW 27.400142
ZWL 377.960225
  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • RBGPF

    7.0000

    75

    +9.33%

  • CMSC

    0.0550

    22.485

    +0.24%

  • RIO

    -0.7300

    63.1

    -1.16%

  • GSK

    -0.2600

    37.97

    -0.68%

  • SCS

    0.0700

    10.58

    +0.66%

  • BTI

    -0.3700

    52.25

    -0.71%

  • AZN

    -1.0200

    72.66

    -1.4%

  • BP

    0.0700

    32.2

    +0.22%

  • CMSD

    0.0400

    22.89

    +0.17%

  • RYCEF

    -0.3500

    13.15

    -2.66%

  • NGG

    -0.0800

    72.15

    -0.11%

  • BCC

    1.7100

    88.14

    +1.94%

  • JRI

    -0.0600

    13.09

    -0.46%

  • RELX

    -0.9800

    52.73

    -1.86%

  • VOD

    -0.0900

    11.43

    -0.79%

  • BCE

    -0.2300

    24.2

    -0.95%

Advertisement Image
Russian athletes allowed to compete at Winter Paralympics

Russian athletes allowed to compete at Winter Paralympics

Russian and Belarusian athletes were given the all-clear Wednesday to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics, which open this week under the shadow of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Advertisement Image

Text size:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged sporting federations across the world to exclude athletes from Russia as well as Belarus, which hosted troops before the invasion.

But on Wednesday the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) held a meeting and posted a brief statement saying athletes from the two countries would be allowed to compete as "neutrals".

"They will compete under the Paralympic flag and not be included in the medal table," the committee said.

Much of the sports world has reacted in solidarity with Ukraine.

FIFA kicked Russia out of the 2022 World Cup, while rugby's world governing body banned Russia and Belarus from all international events "until further notice".

Russian President Vladimir Putin, an accomplished judoka, was also suspended as honorary head of the International Judo Federation.

- Ukraine team en route -

With its civilian airspace closed, half a million refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries and Russian troops closing in on Kyiv, getting Ukraine's Paralympians to Beijing could be difficult logistically.

IPC president Andrew Parsons had said last week it would be a "mammoth challenge", declining to comment further for security reasons.

But by late Tuesday, Ukraine's National Sports Committee for the Disabled confirmed its full team of 20 athletes and nine guides were making their way to the Games.

"I hope that tomorrow, March 2, we will be in Beijing," said Natalia Garach, communications manager for the team.

The small Eastern European country has punched above its weight in previous Paralympic winter events, with frequent podium finishes in the biathlon and ski events.

The delegation took home 22 medals in 2018 -- including seven golds -- gaining the sixth spot on the world tally.

For some team members, the emotional rollercoaster and disrupted focus will be a case of deja vu.

During Russia's hosting of the Winter Paralympics in 2014, Ukrainian athletes had to grapple with Moscow's takeover of the Crimea peninsula.

- 'Positive legacies' –

Sporting action begins Saturday as more than 650 athletes from 49 countries compete in 78 events across six sports –- ice hockey, snowboarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and wheelchair curling.

Like the Olympics last month, events will be held in a strict coronavirus bubble and ticket sales to the public have been canned -- though handpicked spectators sitting socially distanced will watch at some venues.

During last month's Winter Olympics, Beijing celebrated a record haul of nine gold medals -- narrowly beating out the United States.

China has consistently topped the medal tally at past Summer Paralympics.

But its first medal for the Winter Paralympics only came in 2018 -- a gold in wheelchair curling -- and it is hoping its largest ever team of 96 athletes will achieve more podium finishes this year.

China social welfare expert Xiaoyuan Shang said hosting the Paralympics this year will build on the "positive legacies" left from the last time the Games were held in China.

That includes "making people with disabilities more confident in themselves, reducing discrimination and stigma towards people living with disabilities in China, improved accessible facilities in cities and changed social attitudes", she told AFP.

According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation, more than 13,000 specialised fitness centres for people with disabilities have opened in recent years.

China has also been on an accessibility drive since November 2019 –- installing wheelchair ramps, tactile paving for visually impaired people and improving public transport access.

(K.Lüdke--BBZ)

Advertisement Image