“Part of the team is in one place, part is in another. I hope that today we will unite and get to the airport and go to Beijing together,” said Ukrainian Disabled Sports Committee spokesperson Natalia Garach told theBBCon Tuesday.
She added, “The team is not in Ukraine. We will not tell where we are.”
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee — as well as the Canadian and British Paralympic committees — have called for athletes from Russia and Belarus to be banned from the Paralympics amid the invasion.
“As the world watches in horror while Russia brazenly attacks the innocent people and athletes of Ukraine, this is the only acceptable action to be taken until peace is restored,” the USOPC said in astatement.
The IPC has not announced a decision on the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus and plans to discuss it at a board meeting on Wednesday, according toNBC Sports. “We need to make a decision based on our constitution and the values we stand for,” IPC president Andrew Parsons told the BBC.
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Russiabegan its invasion of Ukrainelast week, according to the Ukraine government. The attack is still evolving, but explosions and airstrikes have been reported. The invasion has resulted in the deaths ofhundreds of citizens, with at least 150,000 Ukrainians fleeing the country for safety, according to theAssociated Press.
The Paralympians will compete in six different sports including alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.
Earlier this month, the USOPCannouncedthe 67-member 2022 U.S. Paralympic Team, including two guides for visually impaired athletes, that will compete in Beijing.
Zhe Ji/Getty
The U.S. Paralympic Team features 39 returning Paralympians, including two six-time Paralympians, Nordic skiers Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike, and one five-time Paralympian, alpine skier Laurie Stephens.
To learn more about all the Paralympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
