Russian Paralympic Committee seeks a temporary lifting of the ban on Athletes

The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) plans to file an appeal with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Appeals Tribunal, requesting that bans on its athletes be lifted temporarily. This suggested approach would remain in effect until the decision of the RPC’s appeal against the IPC’s suspension is known which implies that its athletes would not be affected in qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympics until the case is eventually settled. RPC President Pavel Rozhkov verified this to Russian state news agency, TASS.

The RPC and the Paralympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus had their membership suspended at the IPC Extraordinary General Assembly on November 16, 2022, in response to their countries’ engagement in the invasion of Ukraine. Both stated that they would appeal the judgement. Russia was voted out by a 64-39 margin, while Belarus was voted out by a 54-45 margin. Due to visa complications in Germany, Rozhkov and his RPC delegation were unable to attend the Extraordinary General Assembly in person. Both countries were barred from competing in the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics owing to the war, which began just 10 days before the Games, with IPC President Andrew Parsons suggesting that more countries would have boycotted the Games if they had not been pulled.

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What the President of the RPC, Pavel Rozhkov, Had to Say

Rozhkov stated, “The Russian Paralympic Committee believes that the decision of the IPC General Assembly violates not only its rights, but also the rights of athletes who have a special interest in cancelling the decision, since it deprives them of the right to participate in all IPC events and clearly indicates an unequal attitude towards athletes in compared with Para athletes from other countries.”

“In this regard, the RPC applied to the IPC Appeals Tribunal with a motion to impose interim measures in the form of a suspension of the execution of the decision of the IPC Extraordinary General Assembly pending consideration of the RPC appeal. If the decision remains in place pending appeal, the athletes will miss out on the opportunity to compete, resulting in their inability to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games or other major events, meaning they will miss the entire Paralympic sporting season, ” he added.