Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends
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Sports Editor Dan Roan analyses Russia's controversial return to global sporting action at the Winter Paralympics and what it might mean for other sports.
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Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends By Dan Roan Sports editor Published 48 minutes ago Russia's long exile from world sports events is about to end. In a watershed moment, the Winter Paralympics will feature the country's athletes competing under their national flag at the event for the first time since 2014, despite its ongoing war with Ukraine. So more than four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour, what lies behind the move? How controversial is it? And could this lead to other attempts by sports bodies to reintegrate Russia? BBC Sport takes a closer look. What happens when at the Winter Paralympics? Published 2 days ago How many Russian and Belarusian athletes will be at the games? The build-up to the Games threatens to be partly overshadowed by the participation of six athletes from Russia and four from its close ally Belarus. Ukrainian athletes are boycotting Friday's opening ceremony in Verona in protest at the move, along with officials from a host of European nations. Unlike at the recent Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, where their compatriots had to compete as neutrals, the 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus will be representing their countries, accompanied by their national flags and potentially their anthems, if they win gold medals. Last year, the International Paralympic Committee lifted its partial ban on athletes from the two countries competing at the Games. However, the IPC does not govern the six sports contested at the Paralympics. The individual bodies - including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation - refused to lift their own bans, but Russia and Belarus then won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport against FIS . As a result, athletes have been able to return to FIS competitions and the 10 athletes have been awarded bipartite commission invitations - effectively wildcard entries - in order to compete in Milan-Cortina. Why has this changed happened now? The IPC says its original decision ...
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