MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) plans to conclude by Friday its verification of Russian athletes’ eligibility to participate in the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, the IPC press office said in a statement to TASS on Thursday.
"The team is now processing the data, double-checking the eligibility of all athletes. We should have a clearer picture of final athlete numbers by Friday," the IPC’s statement reads.
In early August, President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS that the IPC approved a list of 92 Russian athletes for their participation in the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in France. However, the final decision regarding the delegation of Russian Paralympians in France has not been made as of yet and is expected in the nearest future.
The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games will be held in the French capital of Paris between August 28 and September 8.
RPC’s way to 2024 Paris Paralympics
On March 6, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) published strict eligibility criteria that Russian and Belarusian athletes and support personnel must meet and adhere to in order to participate as neutrals at the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris.
According to the IPC’s requirements "Neutral athletes will compete under a white flag featuring black lettering spelling out NPA [Neutral Paralympic Athletes]." The IPC also ruled that "NPA will compete as individuals in neutral uniforms under an NPA flag, and will not feature on the medals table or march in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies."
On September 29, 2023, the IPC General Assembly ruled at its session in Bahrain to suspend some of the rights the RPC has within the global organization.
However, the IPC General Assembly cleared Russian athletes to participate under a neutral status in international competition, including in the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
In mid-March this year, RPC President Rozhkov told TASS that Russian Paralympians and accompanying staff would don turquoise and beige at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
"They will wear varying shades of turquoise and beige… In line with the requirements on the neutral status participation of athletes, all national colors are prohibited from being displayed on uniforms and, in our case, this means the white, blue and red colors," Rozhkov said at that time.