On Friday, at the IPC meeting of the International Paralympic Committee in Bahrain, it was decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to participate in next year’s Paralympic Games in Paris.
Secretary General of the Finnish Paralympic Committee Riikka Juntunen was on site in Bahrain as of Monday. It was a statutory general meeting, where many issues were discussed, such as bylaw reforms. Juntunen says that everyone was still waiting for Friday and the votes concerning Russia and Belarus.
In the winter of 2022, the Beijing Winter Olympics ended on February 20. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The Paralympics were held from 4 to 13 March.
Paralympic athletes from Russia and Belarus who had already traveled to Beijing were excluded from the Paralympics at the last minute. At first, the IPC allowed the athletes to participate as neutral athletes, but reversed its decision due to widespread opposition from other countries.
In autumn 2022, an extraordinary general meeting was held in Berlin, where the IPC gave its members the opportunity to make a decision about the situation in Russia and Belarus.
– Then the membership decided that the memberships of Russia and Belarus would be shelved, Juntunen says.
This is how the doors to Russia and Belarus were opened
Now the issues were voted on again. The first vote was on whether to shelve the countries further. This would have meant that Russians and Belarusians would not have made it to Paris even as neutral athletes.
This vote ended in favor of Russia and Belarus with 74–65 votes (13 abstentions), meaning that the proposal to continue the shelving was defeated.
So the Russians got to participate in the Paralympics with that decision. Then a vote was taken as to whether they could participate fully, with their country codes. The vote ended with 90–56 (six members abstained) in favor of qualifying Russians and Belarusians only as neutral athletes.
– I have to say that I myself was really, really disappointed and partly also surprised that many things were really forgotten, Juntunen describes the vote.
– There were long discussions, for and against, and at that point it already started to sound like quite a lot of people would vote for the return of the Russians. And that’s how the first show collapsed.
Was it a surprise to you that it was decided this way or was it obvious?
– It was not obvious.
Juntunen says that he lived in the belief and hope that Russians and Belarusians would remain on the shelves. What gave me faith was how unanimous the IPC member countries were still in the Berlin meeting in 2022.
– Nothing has happened in the meantime, Juntunen points out about the situation of the war in Ukraine.
Juntunen says, for example, that countries in the Middle East have raised the point of view “we know that politics and sports should not be mixed”. African countries, on the other hand, emphasized that there are conflicts all over the world.
– It (Russia’s war of aggression) was not such a wonderful thing as it was last year.
– After the conversation had been going on for two hours, I got the feeling that this was not going to go as we had imagined. It was a really big disappointment.
Juntunen emphasizes that organized disability sports is based on the experiences of the Second World War and the rehabilitation of persons disabled in the war. Persons who were on opposite sides in the World War and were injured showed the rest of the world that peaceful interaction and competition is possible.
– Behind the whole disability sport is the idea that there will never be war again. Today’s decision shows in a sad way how short the memory of mankind is, the press release of the Finnish Paralympic Committee outlined on Friday.
However, we are now in a situation where one country has walked into another country and is trying to seize its territories for itself.
– As a Paralympic family, we say that we are a family of peace. And then we welcome with open arms a country that sovereignly walks where it should not go.
For example, the international sports organization Global Athlete reminded that the age-old claim that sports and politics should not be mixed is a bad argument.
– Today’s decision of the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Paris Paralympic Games has offered Russia and Vladimir Putin administration on the global stage for its war propaganda, the organization criticized.
What next?
There are still many complicated issues to be resolved. The International Paralympic Committee IPC is the umbrella organization for many major Paralympic sports, notably for Finnish athletics, for example. There are six of these species in total.
– It makes the situation really difficult at the moment, that in most of the sports the qualifying windows in Paris are open. So far, the Russians have not been able to participate. This means that some will be able to participate in the qualifiers, says Juntunen.
– How does this affect wild cards? No such solutions were reported here. Of course, we asked about them, but such decisions are not ready. In the same way, there is no ready answer as to what kind of athlete is a neutral athlete.
In those sports that are not directly under the IPC, the responsibility for the possible admission of Russians or Belarusians to the qualifying competitions and other international competitions rests with the international sports federation of the respective sport. Such sports include archery and shooting.
For example, athletics is now in a position where Russians and Belarusians are welcome in international arenas. Next year, before the Paralympics, the Paralympic World Championships will be held in Kobe, Japan from 17 to 25. May. Juntunen believes that Russians and Belarusians are involved on a broad front.
There were no boycott claims
Juntunen says that a possible boycott of the Paralympics was not presented in Bahrain by any country.
– As the Paralympic Committee, we are on the side of Finnish athletes. That’s the number one thing, that’s what we’re working on.
– On the other hand, maybe we also think that when the games are in Paris, by boycotting the games we ourselves are out and the Russians are included. That may not be what we want to do here.
Juntunen said that he feels that European countries need to spend more time and energy on international influence work.
What does this mean and can the decision regarding the Paris Paralympics still be reversed?
– This decision made now remains, it will not change before Paris. But this was a lesson after all: if the countries of Europe agree on something, we cannot think that the whole world thinks so. More networks and influence are needed.
– Personally, I feel that the absence of Finnish athletes is not the first thing to be taken forward. But that Finnish athletes can compete there safely, do their best and hopefully also bring medals.
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to 11. August, after which the Paralympic Games will be held from August 28, 2024. The International Olympic Committee has not yet announced whether athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games.