In brief
The 2026 Winter Paralympics will not feature athletes from Russia and Belarus, as the majority of sports governing bodies chose to uphold their bans despite a recent decision by the International Paralympic Committee to lift sanctions. Existing conditions prevent these athletes from qualifying for the Games, which are set for March 2026.
Russian and Belarusian para-athletes will not be at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, despite the International Paralympic Committee lifting its ban on them.
Although the IPC oversees the Games, there are four separate governing bodies in charge of the six sports taking place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Three of the governing bodies have decided to keep their bans on athletes from the two countries, and although Russia and Belarus are now allowed to compete in ice hockey, the decision came too late for them to take part in qualifying.
Both countries were suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia.
A partial ban - allowing athletes to compete as neutrals - was introduced in 2023.
IPC members then voted to lift the suspensions on the two countries at a meeting last month, allowing para-athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags.
However, the four international federations have now told the IPC that, in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March's Games.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), International Biathlon Union (IBU) and World Curling have not lifted their bans, while World Para Ice Hockey has already decided which countries will enter the qualifying tournament for the two remaining places at the Games.
IPC president Andrew Parsons stated, In the same way that the IPC fully respects the decision of the IPC General Assembly not to maintain the partial suspensions of NPC Belarus and NPC Russia, we also fully respect the decisions of each international federation regarding the sports they govern.
He emphasized that the positions of FIS, IBU, and World Curling currently mean that athletes and teams from Belarus and Russia cannot compete in their events, making it impossible for them to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
While Belarus and Russia can now compete in Para ice hockey competitions, the timing of the decision means that the six teams for November's Paralympic Games qualification tournament have already been determined.
I hope the focus will now be very much on the outstanding athletes and NPCs that will compete at Milano Cortina 2026 next March, as well as the tremendous transformational legacies the Paralympic Winter Games will create, Parsons concluded.
