Russia disqualified from 2016 Paralympics

(Baonghean.vn) - President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - Philip Craven announced on August 7 that the Russian disabled athletes were disqualified from competing at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian paralympians returning from the 2012 London Paralympics at the Kremlin in September 2012. Photo: AFP.

"The IPC Disciplinary Committee has decided to suspend the Russian Paralympic Committee with immediate effect. This means that the Russian Paralympic Committee will lose all privileges of being an IPC member, including the Russian Paralympic athletes will not be able to participate in any IPC-organized competitions and will not be able to participate in IPC activities. The Russian Paralympic Committee will not be allowed to send its athletes to the Rio 2016 Paralympics," Mr. Craven said at a press conference on August 7.

The IPC sanction came after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released a report proving that Russian athletes were using state-sponsored doping. The doping scandal initially put the country at risk of being suspended from the 2016 Rio Olympics. After that, athletics and weightlifting were the only two sports in which Russian athletes were not allowed to compete.

The IPC President added that there was evidence that doping testing equipment at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics had been replaced and that the IPC plans to re-examine the results of all doping tests of Russian athletes at Sochi 2014 in the coming months.

According to Mr. Craven, the Russian Paralympic Committee was informed of the suspension decision earlier on August 7.

Thanh Hien

(According to Sputnik)