Russian and Belarusian Athletes Welcomed at Verona Paralympic Games
Quick Look
- Russian and Belarusian athletes, previously banned over doping allegations, received applause in Verona at the 2026 Paralympic Games, holding their national flags.
- This follows their reinstatement by the IPC and a successful CAS appeal, with Russia already winning medals.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Russian and Belarusian athletes were previously banned from international competitions due to state-sponsored doping allegations, which Moscow denied. The IPC fully reinstated their participation last year, and Russia won an appeal at CAS against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
Sports fans have erupted in applause for Russian and Belarusian athletes as they held the flags of their countries in Verona at the 2026 Paralympic Games, a video circulating on social media shows.
“Welcome back,” the group of well-wishers reportedly told the athletes.
Russia has won its first Winter Paralympic medals since 2014, with Varvara Voronchikhina and Aleksey Bugaev taking bronze in the women’s and men’s downhill standing events in Italy earlier on Saturday.
The Russian Paralympic team was cleared to compete once more in January, after Moscow won an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. The body was still barring athletes from Russia despite the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) fully reinstating Russian and Belarusian participation last year.
Many Russian athletes were banned from competing after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation in 2015, following allegations of state-sponsored doping – which Moscow has consistently denied.
Dozens of the bans were later overturned on appeal at the CAS, which said there had been insufficient evidence to impose sanctions.
The Milano Paralympics opened on Friday, and is set to run until March 15. The Russian Paralympians will compete in snowboarding on Sunday.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Russian Paralympians will compete in snowboarding on Sunday.
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- How will other nations/athletes react to their participation?
- What are the specific conditions of their reinstatement?
