Background
The Russian Paralympic Committee remained suspended from the Paralympic movement since 2016, due to the state-sponsored doping programme scandal, but the International Paralympic Committee allowed athletes deemed clean to participate in five sports at 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea: they participated under the Paralympic flag, and the Paralympic anthem was used during ceremonies for those who won gold medals. [2]
On 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee condemned the breach of the Olympic Truce (which lasts from the beginning of the Olympics through the end of the Paralympics) by Russia and Belarus. [3] On 28 February 2022, the IOC Executive Board further called for Russian and Belarusian athletes not to be included in or allowed to participate in any international sporting event. [4] On 2 March 2022, the IPC declared that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be included independently under or allowed to participate independently under the Paralympic flag, with their results not counting in the medal standings. [5] [6]
As a result of criticism by several National Paralympic Committees, who threatened to boycott the Games, the IPC announced on 3 March 2022 that they would reverse their earlier decision, banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. [7] [8] [9] The 83 Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Games were asked to leave the Olympic Village: among them, 71 Russian athletes were expected to compete in 61 evenrs, with representation in all sports included in the event program. There were 33 athletes qualified in Nordic skiing and biathlon, 10 in alpine skiing, and 6 in snowboarding. The Russian Olympic Committee fielded a 17-player sled hockey team, which had placed third at the last World Championships, and a 5-player wheelchair curling team.
At general assembly in Seoul in September 2025, the IPC voted to revoke sanctions against Russia and Belarus, reacquiring rights and privileges of IPC members. However, since they were not yet able to participate in the competitions organised by the federations, no athlete would have been able to qualify in time for 2026 Winter Paralympics. So, on 17th February 2026, the IPC granted six wildcards to Russian athletes and four to Belarusian for the 2026 Paralympic Games with their flags. As sign of protest, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine will boycott the opening ceremony.
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Soviet Union (1988)
Unified Team (1992)
Neutral Paralympic Athletes (2018)
