IPC President reveals with 500 days until start of Paris 2024 Paralympics, decision on Russia could be taken at last minute

With 500 days to go until the start of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, IPC President Andrew Parsons has said a decision over Russian participation at the Paris 2024 Paralympics could be made relatively late if required ©Paris 2024

The International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions will be re-assessed at its General Assembly in September – but President Andrew Parsons has stressed that that need not be the “final, final decision”.

Parsons had revealed exclusively to insidethegames last week it was “a possibility” that his organisation and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could have different policies in force at the Paris 2024 Games regarding Russian participation.

“We can call an Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) any time,” he said.

“We took a decision at the General Assembly last November to suspend Russian and Belarusian athletes.

“Only a new General Assembly can change that.

“We will have a General Assembly in late September this year.

“According to our constitution we need to assess every suspension.

“We will take a decision, if it is to renew the suspension, if it is to lift the suspension, we will see.

“That is in the hand of the membership.”

Four days after the IOC recommendation to International Federations last March not to include Russian and Belarusian athletes in their competitions, the IPC went the other way.

They announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete at last year’s Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing 2022, albeit under the Paralympic flag and without being included in the medals table.

But then the IPC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be allowed to compete at Beijing 2022 after multiple National Paralympic Committees threatened a boycott.

Parsons acknowledges that the current situation is an unpredictable one.

“So we have to wait and see what will be the motions, and to see if something changes at a geopolitical level and the war comes to an end,” he told insidethegames.

“Then we could make a new decision afterwards.

“My point is that the general assembly is not the final, final decision.

“We can call an EGA any time.”

By Mike Rowbottom