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The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony kicks off in Italy’s Verona

The Russian Paralympians were allowed to compete at the Winter Paralympics under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem for the first time in the 12-year period due to previously imposed sanctions

VERONA /Italy/, March 6. /TASS/. The Official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games has kicked off at the Arena di Verona in Italy.

The Russian Paralympians were allowed to compete at the Winter Paralympics under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem for the first time in the 12-year period due to previously imposed sanctions.

President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS in February that six Russian Para athletes had received bipartite invitations to the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

The invitations were extended to three-time Paralympic Champion in alpine skiing Aleksey Bugayev, two-time World Champion in alpine skiing Varvara Voronchikhina, multiple World Champion in para cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov, World Championship medalist in para cross-country skiing Anastasia Bagiyan and her guide Sergey Sinyakin, and para snowboarders Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo Monzer.

TASS reported earlier that athletes representing 28 countries had confirmed their readiness to participate in Athletes Parade during the Official Opening Ceremony. Seven countries, namely Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Estonia, decided to skip the event for political reasons. Twenty countries refrained from attending due to the preparations for competitions that will begin on Saturday. Russia will be represented by Bagiyan and Sinyakin.

The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Italy on March 6-15.

2026 Winter Paralympic Games

On January 20, the IPC revised its decision regarding the admission of the Russian national team to the 2026 Paralympics, allowing cross-country skiers, snowboarders, and alpine skiers to apply for invitations. In September 2025, the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee fully reinstated the Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus.

However, on October 23, 2025, the IPC press office announced that Russians would not be competing at the 2026 Paralympic Games due to the stance taken by certain sports federations. In particular, the Council of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) decided not to allow Russians to participate in international competitions, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The RPC later successfully challenged that decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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