Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be able to compete at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.
The decision is a reversal on its previous position, which envisioned allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete without their flags as "neutrals".
"Following a specially convened meeting, the IPC Governing Board has decided to refuse the athlete entries from the RPC and NPC Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games," the IPC said in a statement.
IPC officials announce the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paralympics. Credit: AAP
"In the last 12 hours an overwhelming number of members have been in touch with us and been very open, for which I am grateful," IPC President Andrew Parsons said.
He said although the organisation believes in separating sports and politics, the fighting in the Ukraine has had an impact.
"Behind the scenes many Governments are having an influence on our cherished event," he said, adding the communication with member organisations has been intense over the past 24 hours.
"They have told us that if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. Multiple NPCs, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete."
He said safety and security of athletes is the priority and he apologised to the banned athletes for suffering from the decision by their governments to go to war.
"First and foremost, we have a duty as part of the Paralympic mission, enshrined in the constitution, to guarantee and supervise the organisation of successful Paralympic Games, to ensure that in sport practiced within the Paralympic Movement the spirit of fair play prevails, violence is banned, the health risk of the athletes is managed and fundamental ethical principles are upheld.
"With this in mind, and in order to preserve the integrity of these Games and the safety of all participants, we have decided to refuse the athlete entries from RPC and NPC Belarus.
"To the Para athletes from the impacted countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions your governments took last week in breaching the Olympic Truce. You are victims of your governments’ actions."
The athletes of Ukraine and Global Athlete group, an international athlete-led pressure group, had issued a letter outlining their concerns over the initial IPC decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
"Sports administrators are choosing bloodshed and profits over principle and stakeholders," they said in a joint statement.
