TOKYO, August 30. /TASS/. Russia’s track and field Para athlete Yevgeny Torsunov won the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics gold on Monday in the men’s long jump T36 classification event.
The athlete from Russia showed the result of 5.76 meters to take the gold. William Stedman of New Zealand won the silver with the result of 5.64 meters and Ukraine’s Roman Pavlyuk took the bronze (5.63 meters).
Russia’s track and field Para athlete Torsunov is 31 years old and he boasts two gold, one silver and one bronze medals of the World Championships in addition the his three-gold medals of the European Championships.
As of today, the Russian national team of Para athletes in Tokyo - participating as Team RPC (the Russian Paralympic Committee) due to international sanctions against Russian sports - boasts 19 gold, 11 silver and 31 bronze medals.
Team RPC is currently 3rd in the overall medal count following China (54-35-30) and Great Britain (26-20-22).
Team RPC at 2020 Summer Paralympics in Japan
The team of national athletes from Russia at the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Japan includes 242 athletes, while the overall number of the RPC delegation in Tokyo stands at 432 people. The selected Paralympians from Russia are fighting for medals in 19 out of the 22 sports competitions, on the program of the quadrennial event.
Russian athletes are competing in the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo under the flag and logo of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) instead of the Russian national flag and state emblem.
The national anthem of Russia is also under sanctions at the Paralympics in Japan. The First Piano Concerto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky was selected to be played at awarding ceremonies for Russian Paralympians in Tokyo.
Sanctions against Russian sports
On December 17, 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland’s Lausanne partially upheld WADA’s (the World Anti-Doping Agency) previous ruling on a number of sanctions against Russian sports.
Following the CAS decision, Russian athletes were deprived of their right to participate in all World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games under the national flag of Russia for a two-year period.
The ruling of the Swiss-based court also stripped Russia of the right to bid for the organization of all international sports tournaments for a period of two years. WADA’s sanctions will be in force until December 2022.