While the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milano-Cortina mark a milestone 50th anniversary, the atmosphere at the Games is undeniably charged by the full return of athletes from Russia and Belarus.
Facing backlash, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons insists it must “remain neutral” and keep the focus on the athletes, but a major focus during Friday’s opening ceremony will undeniably be the absence of several boycotting nations.
The IPC invited six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete at these Games with full national regalia, including flags and anthems, despite the ongoing war on Ukraine. In response, Ukraine is boycotting the opening ceremony, and several other countries have joined them.
“We are bounded by integrity, by fairness, by all the values that we stand for, but we cannot follow political sides one or the other,” Parsons told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux. “We have to remain neutral and remain focused on sport, and that’s what we try to achieve here.
“We are talking about a decision made by the General Assembly. 91 members voted one way, and then we have half of the world complaining about that decision. It would have been the other way around if the decision was different.”
In contrast, the International Olympic Committee only allowed athletes from Russia or Belarus to compete as neutral athletes in Italy, and only after each athlete was vetted for any ties to the military. Neutral athletes don’t see their flag displayed or hear their anthem when they win a medal.
Parsons’s message to the people around the world disappointed by the IPC’s decision, including some who refuse to watch at all, was centred on the athletes who earned their place in Italy.
“What I would encourage them is to focus on the sport. Watch the Paralympics because of the athletes. Don’t make a decision in not supporting, not watching, because of politics, because of the participation of a number of athletes from one country,” Parsons said.
IPC president Andrew Parsons sits down with CBC’s Devin Heroux ahead of 2026 Milano-Cortina Paralympic Games
Parsons added that the politicization of the Paralympics steals the attention from the “main characters” of the Games — the record 665 athletes in Italy who dedicated their lives to reach the pinnacle of winter Para sports.
“They should be the focus, and they should be in the spotlight, and not politicians and not even sport organization leaders.”
The Canadian Paralympic Committee voted against reinstating Russia and Belarus and is not sending any athletes to the ceremony. But the CPC said this was a “performance-based” decision based on Verona being at least two hours away from the venues where athletes are staying and competing.
Reflecting on his opening ceremony speech from four years ago in Beijing, Parsons acknowledges the global political situation has only gotten worse. He said his speech on Friday will be about peace and inclusion.
Milano-Cortina will be Parsons’s last Winter Paralympics, with his term set to end in 2029. The 49-year-old from Brazil spoke about the legacy he hoped to leave.
“If we could really make the Paralympic Winter Games bigger, stronger, more global—that’s my legacy, that’s the legacy that I want from these Games on the winter side of it.”
Part of that growth includes the potential addition of a women’s Para hockey tournament to the Paralympics in the future, but Parsons said the sport still has its own growing to do.
“I’m absolutely sure that, if not in 2030, in 2034 we will have female Para ice hockey, but we have to develop the critical mass of the sport.”
