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.”

Chinese state television did not translate Parsons’ criticism of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and lowered the volume of his speech in English.

Andrew Parsons, President of IPC makes a speech during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at the Beijing National Stadium, in Beijing, on March 4, 2022. Zhe Ji/Getty Images for International Paralympic Committee

Athletes from other nations threatened to boycott the games if Russia competed.

The Russian Paralympic Committee responded that the decision is “absolutely politicized.”

The Paralympics competition consists of six sports including a biathlon, hockey, snowboarding, curling, alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing.

There are approximately 564 athletes in the competition; among them are 65 Americans, while the largest contingent is China with 96.

Additional Bans

For the remainder of the 2022 season, the World Curling Federation banned Russia from further competition.

On Friday, the International Gymnastics Federation has also indefinitely banned athletes, officials, and judges from Russia and Belarus from participation in all sanctioned competitions.

International sports organizers have scrambled to deal with the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began shortly after the end of the Beijing Olympics.

FIFA, the international soccer federation, has also banned Russia from further participation in World Cup qualifications.

International sports events in Russia, such as the Finals of Champions League Soccer, have already been moved from St. Petersburg.

The French soccer League 1 announced Friday that it will no longer air coverage of league games from Match TV on Russian television.