Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag at the Paris Paralympics in 2024 after officials on Friday voted against an outright ban.
A majority of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to allow Russian athletes to compete “in an individual and neutral capacity” without national flags, colors or emblems.
The decision was made hours after the IPC, gathered in its General Assembly in Manama, Bahrain, voted against a full ban on Russian participation.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said the organization is a “very firm believer that sport and politics should not mix.”
Yet the IPC had previously decided to partially suspend the Russian National Paralympic Committee for two years due to “breaches of its constitutional membership obligations.”
After Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last February, the the organization banned athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from competing, while also suspending both countries’ Paralympic committees.
As a result, Paralympic athletes from both nations were barred from taking part in last year’s Winter Paralympics in Beijing.
The decision comes two weeks before an International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai, where the organization is expected to discuss the participation of Russia and Belarus at the Paris Olympics next year.
Updated with the IPC’s decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag.