00:00It's the first in the world of sports since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
00:04At the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics,
00:08athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to compete under their own national flags.
00:13The athletes will be treated like those from any other country,
00:16said the International Paralympic Committee,
00:18a decision IOC President Kersey Coventry has been building up to.
00:23Our game is sport.
00:26That means keeping sport a neutral ground.
00:29A place where every athlete can compete freely
00:33without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments.
00:38Six Russian athletes have been awarded wild cards in alpine skiing,
00:42cross-country skiing and snowboarding,
00:44including free-time alpine skiing gold medalist Alexei Bougaiv,
00:48while four Belarusians will be taking part in cross-country skiing.
00:52Russians and Belarusians who met strict criteria
00:55were allowed to compete as individual neutral athletes
00:58at the Paris 2024 Olympics,
01:01as is the case for the Winter Olympics currently underway in Italy.
01:05Russia's war in Ukraine has been at the centre of the biggest controversy
01:08of the Winter Olympics.
01:10Ukrainian skeleton athlete and flag-bearer Vladislav Hereskovich
01:14was banned from competing
01:15because he wanted to wear a special remembrance helmet featuring artwork
01:19depicting Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia's invasion.
01:22Hereskovich's lawyer gave this comment to France 24.
01:27A Ukrainian athlete is excluded without a proven violation,
01:30while representatives of aggressor states are gradually regaining full participation
01:35in international sport.
01:37This is no longer only a question of law,
01:39but of consistency, fairness and humanity in international sport today.
01:44The Winter Paralympics begins on the 6th of March.
01:48The inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their flags
01:52could push other sport competitions to do the same,
01:55with FIFA President Gianni Infantino already having said
01:58that he wants Russia reinstated to international football.
02:02all peaceful.
02:02Yeah.
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