South Korea Open to Russian Paralympic Reinstatement

(ATR) Winter Olympic hosts South Korea are among 14 countries ready to welcome Russia back into the Paralympic Movement.

According to Russian news agency TASS, the Russian Paralympic Committee released a letter from the 14 signatories who say they are encouraged by Russia’s efforts to regain the trust of its fellow National Paralympic Committees.

"We, the signatories, are inspired by the Russian Committee’s work to create an open environment with zero tolerance for doping and to protect clean sports; systematic technologies; to raise awareness in anti-doping issues not only among athletes but also among those who train them; a database to prevent the use of doping in Russian Paralympic sports," the letter states as reported by TASS.

The other signatories on the letter include the NPCs of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan and Vietnam.

While undoubtedly refreshing for Russia to receive any notice of support at this stage, the International Paralympic Committee tells Around the Rings the only factor it will consider in lifting the suspension is the work of its independent taskforce.

"When deciding if NPC Russia will have its suspension lifted or not, the only views that the IPC will take into account are those of the IPC Taskforce who are responsible for monitoring NPC Russia’s progress in meeting the reinstatement criteria," an IPC spokesperson tells ATR.

Russia has been suspended by the IPC since before the Rio 2016 Paralympics for the state-sponsored doping programs outlined by WADA-backed investigations by Richard Pound and Richard McLaren.

At the time, IPC president Philip Craven went against the precedent set by the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach that allowed individual federations to determine the eligibility of Russian athletes at Rio 2016. Craven attributed the unanimous decision of the IPC Board to the "broken, corrupted and entirely compromised" nature of the Russian anti-doping systems.

The IPC independent taskforce seeking to ensure that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and RPC are following guidelines to install better anti-doping systems and practices. ATR is told a report from this taskforce will be heard at the IPC Governing Board meeting Sep. 3-4 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates where the "board will then decide the best course of action".

A decision could be made regarding Russia’s participation at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics during this gathering of the world’s NPCs at the subsequent IPC General Assembly from Sep. 5-8. The assembly will also elect the next IPC president between candidates Zhang Haidi, Patrick Jarvis, Andrew Parsons and John Petersson.

The PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics take place from March 8-18. It could be up to the next IPC president and the new Governing Board to determine the eligibility of Russian athletes, either as individuals or under the Russian flag.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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