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World Paralympic body may set demeaning terms for Russian athletes to compete — lawmaker

"We must closely consider the nature of their proposed conditions. That goes for the coaching staff at all levels of the Russian Paralympic Committee [RPC] as they must make well-balanced decisions," Mikhail Terentyev added

SARATOV, July 7. /TASS/. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) may set special conditions that Russian Para-athletes must meet to compete should it decide to clear Russia’s participation in international tournaments, Mikhail Terentyev, a member of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, told TASS on Friday.

The IPC General Assembly is set to discuss the issue of Russian Para-athletes’ participation in international tournaments at its next session in September.

"I believe that, given the politicized nature of the issue, the International Paralympic Committee will do its utmost to show that it’s open to all athletes, but, on the other hand, will attempt to set competition eligibility conditions that could be demeaning for our athletes," Terentyev said.

"We must closely consider the nature of their proposed conditions. That goes for the coaching staff at all levels of the Russian Paralympic Committee [RPC] as they must make well-balanced decisions," the lawmaker added.

Russian Para-athletes had been set to take part in the Beijing Paralympics in 2022 until the IPC decided to suspend their participation due to Russia’s involvement in the ongoing developments in Ukraine.

On November 16, 2022, the IPC Extraordinary General Assembly voted to suspend the Russian Paralympic Committee’s membership in the organization. The RPC filed a motion on December 26, 2022 contesting the IPC General Assembly’s ruling to indefinitely suspend Russian Para-athletes from competing in international sports tournaments.

Russian lawmaker Mikhail Terentyev is a former Paralympian and was the gold medalist at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics in men’s cross-country skiing in addition to winning four silver medals at the 1998 Paralympics in Nagano and the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City. He also won two bronze medals in men’s biathlon at the 1998 Paralympics in Nagano and the 2006 Paralympics in Turin.

From 2006 to 2014, Terentyev served as the RPC’s director general.