It was supposed to be a celebration of para-cross-country skiing in the Bavarian Forest, but the mood at the World Cup in Finsterau is down. The reason: almost four years after the start of the Russian one War of aggression in Ukraine For the first time, 17 female athletes from Russia and 9 from Belarus will be able to compete in a major sporting event for people with disabilities in Germany. A ruling by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS. Previously, the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) surprisingly held the meeting in September Suspension of both countries lifted.
“A disastrous mix between CAS and IPC has caused this bad situation. The Ukrainian athletes are running around here like beaten dogs,” says national coach Ralf Rombach. To ensure that Ukrainians do not leave because of the start of the war enemy, the flags of the participating nations will not be displayed according to a decision by the organizers. A law at home prohibits Ukrainian athletes from taking part in events when Russians are competing under their country’s flag at the same time. Nevertheless, the situation in Finsterau is a farce, after all the athletes run in their official racing suits with emblems.
“I don’t think it’s right that they are allowed to start. The war continues, nothing has changed. It’s humanly and sportingly wrong, and I can’t even imagine how that feels for the Ukrainians,” criticizes Paralympics winner Anja Wicker. Contacts with athletes from Russia and Belarus, many of whom we still know from before the war, are reduced to a minimum in Finsterau. “People say hello, there’s hardly any small talk,” reports Rombach. The national coach is a little surprised why the athletes from the two previously banned nations received visas to enter Germany on time: “In other countries, the Foreign Office might have taken its time. Poland, for example – we hear – doesn’t want to let the Russians and Belarusians enter the next World Cup.”
The Ukrainian athletes run around here like beaten dogs
Ralf Rombach, German national coach
The open rejection of the return of the two nations from the East is not due to the war in Ukraine. There are also doubts about the topic Doping. “The World Ski Federation FIS has assured that the doping controls were carried out seriously, but how is questionable for us. Everyone in the scene is extremely sensitive because in the past all stops were pulled out when it came to doping in Russia,” said Rombach. At the opening races in Finsterau, the fears of sporting superiority through doping tuning did not initially come true, but the mediocre performances of the undesirable participants may also have had something to do with the difficult journey via Dubai in times of war.
The goal is to take part in the Paralympics
By taking part in the World Cups in winter sports – three Russians are also taking part in the alpine competitions in Saalbach, Austria this weekend – Putin’s sports ambassadors want to take part Paralympics from March 6th to 15th in Milan and Cortina. Most starting places have already been taken after the qualifying competitions in the six sports (para-cross-country skiing, biathlon, alpine skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and curling), but Russians and Belarusians can still apply for wild cards. If they get some of the starting places for the big event, they could even compete under their national flag at the Paralympics. Things are different at the Winter Olympics: Only so-called individual, neutral athletes are allowed there.
The background for the different approach is the controversial decision of the IPC to lift the suspension of the two warmongering nations. “If a Russian or Belarusian were to win at the Paralympics, the anthem would normally be played and the flag shown,” reports Rombach: “This case must not happen, so we all have to get better.” The mood in the para scene is clear: the frustration over the return of the Russians and Belarusians has also given rise to a new sporting determination.