Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympics

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. 

The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags.

The athletes would be “treated like [those from] any other country,” the IPC told AFP. 

This contrasts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requiring the limited number of Russians and Belarussians at the main Winter Olympics to compete under a neutral flag.

Why do Russia and Belarus face restrictions on participation?

Russia and Belarus’ Olympics teams were excluded from competiton by both the IOC and the IPC in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

This was conducted using Belarussian territory for military movements, giving Russia’s troops the shortest possible approach to Kyiv, in an original and failed attempt to rapidly seize the capital.

At the last Winter Games, taking place in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, the two countries were subject to a blanket ban.

Amid pushback and legal challenges from Russia, the IOC later relented somewhat and started to allow individual athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis.

However, they were obliged to compete under the AIN or Individual Neutral Athletes flag and anthem, rather than being part of a formal Russian or Belarussian team or contributing to those countries’ medal tallies. Thirteen Russians and seven Belarussians are competing under these terms at the current Winter Olympics.

The IPC, meanwhile, elected to lift its suspension on Russian and Belarussian athletes at its general assembly last September, leading to Tuesday’s confirmation of the flags’ usage. 

Russia has been granted places in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding — split evenly among men and women — while Belarus’ four spots are all in cross-country skiing. 

Sports bodies split on how to handle Russia

Several other sporting bodies took decisions similar to the IOC after the invasion of Ukraine, but have been struggling to maintain them amid legal, political and public pressure. 

Russia’s Olympic Committee chief has said that the Milan-Cortina Winter Games should be the last Olympics without a full Russian team, suggesting a return for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles was on the cards. 

In football, Russia is banned from the World Cup and European Championship qualification processes. However, the head of the world governing body, Gianni Infantino, has called on European federation UEFA to lift the ban, a move UEFA is currently resisting. 

Ice hockey retains a ban, but Moscow has said it plans to appeal. 

Attempts to ban Russian and Belarussian tennis stars from certain events, like Wimbledon 2022, proved the short-lived exception not the rule. In the end only restrictions on Davis Cup team competition endured. 

World Atheltics canceled its ban on Russia and Belarus in 2023 and the international chess federation lifted its restrictions on Russian teams late last year.

Debate over politicization of sports, fairness of punishing athletes

The age-old debate over the “politicization” of sports came into sharp media focus last week at the Winter Olympics, but with a focus on Ukraine more than Russia. 

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Heraskevych was excluded from the Games after he refused to stop wearing a commemorative helmet carrying images of people killed during Russia’s invasion.

The IOC had asked him not to wear it to honor restrictions over making political statements or protests during sporting competition proper. The IOC’s decision to insist on this rule led to considerable public backlash from Ukraine and elsewhere. 

The debate over whether professional sports should, or even can remain apolitical in nature is years old, as are discussions over whether it is fair to punish professional athletes — with their short-lived careers and limited opportunities for success — for the actions of their governments. 

Edited by: Louis Oelofse