(ATR) The International Paralympic Committee will decide by the end of December if Russia will be allowed to compete at the Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang.
IPC President Andrew Parsons says a task force will review the situation in early December and then make a recommendation to the leadership December 19.
Parsons says the decision will be based on the outcome of the WADA Foundation Board later this month. The IPC banned Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in 2016, a move that differed from the IOC which allowed Russians to compete if cleared by their respective federations.
As the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics approach, both IPC and IOC are racing to determine the status of Russian athletes once again as a result of allegations of systemwide doping subterfuge.
Parsons spoke to reporters in Paris where he is making his first visit since his election as IPC president and the choice of Paris as the host of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. He held meetings with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Minister of Sport Laura Flessel and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
"The objective of this visit is to get to know a bit more about the project now that Paris 2024 is officially awarded the games. While we know a lot about the project already, it is great to have interaction with the government," Parsons said.
"We are happy about what we’ve seen so far and with the way the Paralympic Games is being handled in an integrated way at the early stages of the organizing committee," he said.
"I think we have a very engaged public sector here. A very engaged private sector. And the sporting community as well . We have a very good opportunity for the Paralympic movement here in Paris 2024 in the sense that we will be back in Europe after a very long time, after Rio and Tokyo.
Parsons says the venue plan is "interesting", noting that there is not a central park for Paralympic events.
"So this means we will have venues spread out through the city which is a very good concept for us, because you have athletes with a disability competing across Paris. And citizens of Paris, the tourists and other people who are here in Paris, will see them in action, persons with an impairment moving about the city," says Parsons.
"Mobility makes people with an impairment visible in society and visibility brings inclusion," says the IPC chief.
Parsons is disappointed with the promotion for the 2018 Winter Paralympics coming in March to South Korea. He labels the effort "poor".
"This is something I raised with the president of the organizing committee as well as the president of the country," says Parsons about his most recent visit to PyeongChang.
"It is something we do not foresee here in Paris 2024. From the government to the organizing committee, the Paralympics are important to the whole concept of the Games," he says.
And regardless of the problems he sees with the low-profile of the Winter Paralympics in Korea, Parsons is still optimistic that the crowds will come in March.
"We are confident we will have full venues in PyeongChang. Even though the level of promotion for the games is not what we want."
Parsons defended the classification system used to group athletes relative to their abilities in the Paralympic events. Paralympic classification has been under question in particular in the United Kingdom with charges that athletes have taken advantage of loopholes to gain an advantage.
"I think statements like the classification system is broken are not correct," Parsons said. He says that ongoing review of classification has shown that it’s working as it should, although change and improvements will always take place.
"It’s really unfair to accuse athletes of cheating for abusing the system. Classification is something we will always have to be watching on a daily basis as well as the long-term," he said.
Homepage photo: Paris 2024
Reported by Ed Hula.
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