The decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Beijing 2022 Games has taken away the dream of the athletes. This was announced on March 3 by State Duma deputy, three-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling Artur Taymazov.
“Every athlete dreams of becoming an Olympic champion all his life and goes through a very difficult path. I consider unfair the decision of the IOC to remove our Paralympic athletes. These guys have been preparing for many years and dreamed of becoming Paralympic champions. They simply took away the dream from these athletes, ”Taymazov said in an interview with Izvestia.
The MP stressed that sport is out of politics. He advised the Russian Paralympic athletes to keep training and achieve their goals.
On February 28, the IOC recommended that international sports federations prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international competitions due to the situation around Russia and Ukraine.
On March 2, the International Paralympic Committee admitted Russian athletes to the Games in Beijing. IPC President Andrew Parsons noted the need to separate politics from sport. But on March 3, the admission was withdrawn. Parsons explained that due to the IPC’s previous decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, several National Paralympic Committees threatened to withdraw from the Paralympics.
On March 3, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov called this decision monstrous. According to him, only yesterday one decision was made, and “today this decision has been changed.”
On the same day, a public figure, Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics, two-time absolute world champion Alina Kabaeva said that the attitude of top sports officials towards Russia is the most shameful page in the history of world sports, their hypocrisy has a long history.
The Paralympic Games will be held March 4-13 in Beijing.
In recent days, against the background of the special operation of the Russian Federation to protect the Donbass, athletes from Russia have been suspended from participating in various competitions.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. Then Peskov clarified that the special operation had two goals – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. He pointed out that both of these aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.