Winter Paralympics, Gymnastics, Curling, Soccer Oust Russia From Competition

Members of Team United States are introduced during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at the Beijing National Stadium, in Beijing, on March 4, 2022. Steph Chambers/Getty Images

The 10-day Winter Paralympics opened Friday in Beijing, while athletes from Russia and Belarus were forced home. The Paralympics Committee Organizers reversed their announcement from the previous day that the two countries would be included in the Beijing competition.

Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, stated at the ceremonies, “As the leader of an organization with inclusion at its core, where diversity is celebrated and differences embraced, I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now.”