In brief
- The Russian flag was flown at the Paralympics for the first time in over a decade this year.
- Countries such as Ukraine and Australia have boycotted the games’ opening ceremony to protest Russia’s inclusion.
Russia and Belarus have made their return to the Paralympics although 16 countries have boycotted the 2026 Milan-Cortina opening ceremony.
The Russian flag was flown at the Paralympics for the first time in over a decade, with Ukraine and Australia among the 16 countries which did not send officials to the ceremony at Verona Arena.
Ukrainian foreign affairs minister Andrii Sybiha praised Australia for not sending officials to the opening ceremony, saying on social media the move was in keeping with “a principled decision”.
“Allowing the display of Russian and Belarusian state symbols undermines international efforts to isolate those regimes amid Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine – and remains unacceptable,” he wrote on X.
Unlike last month’s Winter Olympics which had four separate venues to accommodate the most spread-out Games in history, the Paralympics opening ceremony was held only in Verona.
Russia and Belarus were represented by just two athletes each, after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) last week invited 10 Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the Games.
Other countries which boycotted the opening ceremony include Czech Republic, Finland and Poland.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but had been sanctioned since the 2014 Sochi Games due to the country’s state-sponsored doping program.
The countries’ athletes then transitioned to individual neutral athletes at the 2024 Paris Games.
Other disruptions
Severely disrupted global air travel following the US’s joint military strikes with Israel on Iran over the weekend compounded the ceremony’s attendance woes.
Iran’s sole Paralympian Abolfazl Khatibi Mianaei was forced to withdraw from the Games just hours before the opening ceremony as the cross-country skier could not travel safely to Italy, the IPC said.
Giovanni Malago, the head of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic organising committee, called for peace in his address at the opening ceremony, but was not specific.
“Of course, we cannot ignore that these Games take place in a deeply divided world, torn apart by (the) worst grief and suffering at one of the most dramatic turning points of our time,” Malago said.
“For this reason, the message of peace, inclusion and solidarity at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic movement is more meaningful and more important than ever.”
Separately, Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and France were among 29 of the total 55 participating countries who did not send athletes to the ceremony due to a tight turnaround with the competition start.
Australian alpine skier Georgia Gunew is making her Paralympic debut while fellow flag bearer Ben Tudhope opting out of the ceremony due to snowboard cross beginning the following day.
Tudhope is looking to claim an elusive gold medal at his fourth Paralympic appearance, after his bronze in snowboard — and Australia’s only medal — at the 2022 Beijing Games.
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