Russia to Appeal IPC Decision in Paralympics Beijing 2022

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin informed Thursday that they will submit an official document to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to denounce the restriction established by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) that prohibits the participation of its athletes in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

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According to the entity, the IPC's decision was influenced by statements made by committees, teams and athletes, who refused to attend the sporting event if delegations from Russia and Belarus competed in the winter games, which will begin on March 4.

In this regard, Matytsin stressed that the measure adopted by the Paralympic authority is considered an unquestionable violation of the rights of athletes, as well as an irrefutable breach of the Olympic Charter.  "It is extremely inadmissible to implement any kind of sanction with regard to Paralympic athletes who have already arrived for the tournament," the Russian minister specified.

The sanction came into force, following the statement made on Wednesday by IPC president Andrew Parson, who had allowed the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games under the neutral flag and without positioning in the medal table.

"In making our decision yesterday, we were looking at the long-term health and survival of the Paralympic Movement; however, what is clear is that the rapid escalation of the situation has put us in a unique and impossible position so close to the start of the Games," Parson argued.