MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Paralympic Committee (RPC) has not yet made a final decision on Russian athletes’ participation in the 2024 Paris Games, RPC President Pavel Rozhkov told TASS.
Earlier on Wednesday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) published criteria, which allow Russian Paralympians to compete as individuals under a white flag featuring black lettering spelling out NPA. They are barred from taking part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. The IPC also ruled that they were allowed to compete beyond the medal table. The national flags of Russia and Belarus, as well as other national symbols, are banned at the Paralympic Games. Those athletes who support a special military operation or have an ongoing national security contract will not be allowed to take part.
"The final decision on our participation in the Games has not been made yet. We will make it later after a thorough consideration," said Rozhkov. "We are studying the criteria, which we received today, along with our federations and our national teams. However, even now we can state that they are discriminatory and still retain the previous well-known humiliating features. And we understand from the experience with the IOC (International Olympic Committee - TASS) and the IPC, as well as from all the previous steps of these organizations, that more criteria may appear.".