Russians to Compete as ‘Neutral Athletes’ at Paralympics

Russians to Compete as ‘Neutral Athletes’ at Paralympics
A helicopter flies past the Beijing Olympic Tower ahead of the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, on March 2, 2022. Andy Wong/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as “neutral athletes” because of their countries’ roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Wednesday.

Russian athletes had already been slated to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, as punishment for the state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and a subsequent cover-up.