The Paralympic Committee of Ukraine accused IPC of discrimination

On March 11, the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Ukraine on its official website accused the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) of allegedly discriminating against the Ukrainian delegation and, according to the NPC, of "special partnership" with the Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus.

In its statement, the NPC of Ukraine noted the allegedly "obvious increase in IPC loyalty to the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees." The organization also stated "unprecedented pressure" from IPC representatives on the Ukrainian team.

The NPC of Ukraine cited several incidents as an example of such pressure. In particular, according to the committee, Ukrainian athletes were instructed to remove the country's flag from a prominent place in the house where they lived, were forbidden to hold team training camps in the lobby to summarize the day, and skier Alexandra Kononova was told to remove earrings with political slogans and the flag of Ukraine at the award ceremony. Representatives of the organizing committee also allegedly confiscated items with Ukrainian symbols from family members of skier and biathlete Taras Radya.

"The National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine demands that the IPC leadership begin the process of returning to the provisions of the IPC constitution and coordinate the activities of the IPC executive bodies in accordance with them during the XIV Winter Paralympic Games," the statement said.

12 years later: the anthem of the Russian Federation was played in honor of Voronchikhina's victory at the Paralympics

Our skier has won a long—awaited victory - how do other Russians perform

On March 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian skiers Varvara Voronchikhina and Anastasia Baghiyan on their gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Italy. In congratulating Voronchikhina, the Russian leader noted the athlete's "honed skills and winning spirit." Putin expressed pride in the skier and her teammates, who "perform with dignity under the national flag of the country."

Baghiyan won the classic style sprint, covering the distance in 3 minutes and 16.1 seconds. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the successes of Russian athletes at the Games in Italy are a reason for pride for the whole of Russia.

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