Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned
- IPC earlier decided to allow participation as neutral athletes
- Multiple teams threatened boycott that could have halted games
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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Ukrainian Paralympians vowed to make the Beijing Games another “front line” in their country’s fight for freedom, after Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from the competition in a stunning reversal.
“There is one front line for our battle, our warriors,” Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee, said at press conference in Beijing on Thursday. “And the second front line is here, in Beijing.”