(ATR) As Russia’s Paralympians are told to train for PyeongChang, the International Paralympic Committee says there’s work to do to lift the country’s suspension.
Still banned by the IPC after missing the Rio Paralympics over the doping scandal, Russia faces a race against time to fulfill criteria to compete at both the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics next February.
"The preparation is already underway, we are getting ready. We are preparing for the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea as normal," Russian Paralympic Committee president Vladimir Lukin was quoted by news agency TASS on Friday.
"Unfortunately, the team was barred from participation in qualification contests as Russia’s membership in the International Paralympic Committee had been suspended. This restriction puts into question its participation. But we are preparing as normal," he added.
Banned last August, the IPC is taking a hard line against Russia in contrast to the IOC’s handling of the state-directed doping cover-up exposed in WADA investigator Richard McLaren’s two reports. The IOC delegated Russia eligibility decisions to the summer Olympic international federations.
The Russian Paralympic Committee is currently working with an IPC Taskforce in a bid to be reinstated in time for PyeongChang 2018.
"The ball is in the court of the Russian Paralympic Committee. They know the criteria they have to meet and it’s up to them to meet them," an IPC spokesman told Around the Rings.
"As soon as the criteria is met the suspension will be lifted."
The IPC Taskforce will give its next update to the IPC’s governing board in mid-May.
McLaren’s bombshell dossier on the doping scandal revealed that 35 doping samples were covered up by Russian Paralympic authorities between 2012 and 2015.
Despite some progress towards reinstatement, the IPC taskforce expressed concern in its Feb. 13 report "that there appears to have been little material progress to date – either by the RPC, or by the relevant Russian authorities – regarding the fundamental requirement to adequately address the findings made by Professor McLaren".
Earlier this month, IPC president Philip Craven and taskforce independent chair Andy Parkinson met with three members of the Russian State Duma in Bonn. It focused on the suspension and steps needed to bring the RPC back into the Paralympic family.
"The IPC Taskforce will continue to lead and support the RPC in meeting its reinstatement criteria. It’s now time for the Russians to turn positive words into positive actions," Craven said in a March 10 statement.
One of the main topics debated was Russia’s participation in PyeongChang and the ongoing qualification process. The IPC’s message to Russia is that individual athletes cannot compete while the Russian Paralympic Committee remains suspended. They told the Russian politicians that only when the reinclusion criteria were met could the ban be lifted and athletes be entered into qualification events.
"They know what they need to do and the timeline they can possibly achieve it in," Craven said at the time.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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