Many more athletes from Russia will compete under a neutral flag at the Paris Paralympic Games than at the 2024 Olympics. As the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Friday, August 23, the list of participants includes 90 "neutral" athletes from Russia and eight from Belarus, UNN reports with reference to DW.
At the Summer Olympics, which ended on August 11, only 15 athletes from Russia and 17 from Belarus competed in neutral status, according to the SID sports information agency.
Russian and Belarusian athletes will again not be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony of the Games, and if they win, the national anthem will not be played, and the use of state flags and other national attributes will be prohibited.
Athletes who actively support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as those affiliated with the Russian or Belarusian army, security forces and security agencies of these countries, will not be able to participate in the Games.
Karl Quade, the head of the German delegation to the Paralympics, explained in an interview with SID that the number of Russian athletes admitted to the Paralympics is much higher among people with disabilities than the Olympics.