“The intention was not to solve the problem, but to draw attention to a non-sporting topic

For the past two weeks, Italy has hosted the Paralympic Winter Games, an edition that has not been without controversy, after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) allowed the Russians and Belarusians to return to competitions under the national flag.

Andrew Parsons, unhappy with the actions of the Ukrainian delegation: “It doesn't mean that they don't have to follow some rules”

The delegation of Ukraine, a country invaded by Russia, was the most vocal on the subject, but there were other teams that expressed their disapproval of the CIP decision. At the end of the Paralympic Games, Andrew Parsons, the president of the CIP, spoke about the tense situation within the competition and about the grievances of Ukrainians.

“First of all, I send my condolences to the Ukrainian people. I can only imagine, because luckily I haven't experienced anything like this, what they must be going through. I can imagine the horror of everything that happens in war, but that does not mean that the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee does not have to follow some rules that are the same for everyone and from which we cannot make exceptions“, said the Brazilian, quoted by Marca.

“That would set a dangerous precedent, and what we want is precisely to protect the athletes. When we consulted the Athletes' Council, they told us that we need to protect the podium, the competition arenas and the Olympic village. The rules are not imposed on the course, they are known to everyone and as a sports body we have to uphold them and do what our members ask of us,” added Parsons in relation to the Ukrainians' accusations, who say the IPC and the Olympic Organizing Committee put “systematic pressure” on the Ukrainian delegation.

When asked if he was bothered by the fact that the Ukrainian delegation went to the media instead of communicating directly with the Paralympic Committee, Parsons admitted that he had the impression that it did not want to solve the problem, but to draw attention to an issue.

“I'm a bit disappointed because we are an organization made up of countries and normally the first complaint is made by the head of mission of the delegation and from there it goes to a morning meeting or a letter can be sent to the International Paralympic Committee. This is the normal procedure, but it was not done that way; went straight to the press”, revealed the president of the CIP.

“It seems to me that the intention was not to solve the problem, but to draw attention to a non-sporting topic. At the Games, we want to focus on sport and athletes, not on other matters. I think that when our members act like this, it does not contribute to stability,” he added.

Ukraine won 19 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze) at the Paralympic Winter Games and ranked 7th. The podium was made up of: China (44 medals: 15 gold, 13 silver, 16 bronze), United States of America (24 medals: 13 gold, 5 silver, 6 bronze) and Russia (12 medals: 8 gold, one silver, 3 bronze).

Winter Paralympics review: 'More countries, more athletes and more women than ever'

Parsons drew conclusions about this year's edition of the Paralympic Games.

“The balance sheet is very positive, not only from a sporting point of view, where the performances were incredible, but also in terms of the evolution of the athletes, which was fantastic. I mentioned at the beginning that we had more countries, more athletes and more women than ever before, but we also have more nations that won gold medals for the first time. This is proof that winter Paralympic sport is growing, and this is due to the work of the National Committees and federations,” he said, with enthusiasm, the CIP leader.

Now the International Paralympic Committee is starting to prepare for the Los Angeles Paralympic Games in 2028.

“The Summer Games are different from the Winter Games. The idea for Los Angeles is to have more countries competing and, for the first time, more countries to be able to win medals. We want to support countries to better prepare their athletes and work with international federations on this. The fact that it takes place in the United States is very important from a market point of view, for television and everything else. We know that the impact of events in the United States is very large worldwideParsons said.

“That's why we want to take this opportunity to transform the Paralympic movement and change people's attitudes towards people with disabilities in the United States. They have a very important war veterans movement and we want to activate it for sports. We see it as a unique opportunity. We will have a new sport, climbing, which impressed me a lot at the Olympic Games and I think it can bring us joy. I think that these Games, although they will be complex because of the very large distances, will be extremely important,” he concluded.