We are talking about 44 athletes whose positive samples disappeared from test tubes in 2012-2015. “Among them, 15 people do not belong to the Paralympic team,” he said at a press conference on Monday Head of the Russian Paralympic Committee V. Lukin. - For the rest, we need to figure it out specifically. In addition, divide the number of suspects into a time period of 4 years and 28 sports... What does this have to do with 270 people (our delegation in Rio - Ed.), who, by the way, passed the tests?!”

Let us remind you: 182 of our Paralympians went to London in 2012. They won 102 medals, finishing 2nd overall as a team. Two dozen of them are suspected of doping, but without evidence. And now they don’t let everyone in! Once again, the West is vilely trying to put pressure on Russia, using unsportsmanlike methods of struggle. Their declarations of the rights of people with disabilities turn into cheap chatter when politics clouds the eyes.

Opinions

Alexey Ashapatov, four-time Paralympic champion:

Russia will defend in court the right of its Paralympic athletes to participate in the 2016 Games.

The team is in shock. How can this even be?! But what about the presumption of innocence?! You say: sport is outside of politics? But it is obvious: what is happening now is one of the ways to put pressure on Russia. Nobody cares about the moral side of the issue. The skating rink decided to visit the Paralympic athletes - those for whom these Games every four years are the meaning of life.

But, you know, fate itself has crippled and hardened us so much that no one and nothing can break us anymore. We won't give up! We will fight for justice!

Pyotr Builov, senior coach of the Paralympic athletics team

For me, such a verdict from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) did not come as a surprise. I worked for a long time in an international organization for blind sports, so I studied the tactics of the British representatives well. It is obvious that there are other people behind Philip Craven, the head of the IPC.

Remember his speech with a statement about the suspension of our team. He was confused, could not answer any specific question, did not name a single fact or name, his ignorance of the essence and depth of the situation was obvious.

Those directors who started all this are trying to pull off a trick with Russian Paralympians that didn’t work with our Olympians. This is a crime that will backfire on the instigators themselves. The decision on Russia will undoubtedly split the Paralympic movement and set it back.

Now lawyers have joined our question. And we, athletes and coaches, face a very difficult month (the Paralympics starts on September 7 - Ed.). But we are persistent fighters. We are no strangers to difficulties.

On Sunday, August 7, literally an hour after the good news that Russia had won a second medal at the Rio Olympics, real thunder struck. The International Paralympic Committee has officially announced that our entire team is not officially allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to start on September 7 in Brazil. This strict and ruthless attitude towards our athletes was voiced personally by IPC President Philip Craven at a special press conference.

The RPC is currently unable to fully comply with the Anti-Doping Code and as a result we have decided to suspend the RPC with immediate effect. This means that the RPC loses all privileges of membership in the IPC. This means that Russian athletes cannot take part in our competitions; Russia will not be able to send athletes to the Paralympics in Rio. The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupt and completely compromised, so the International Paralympic Committee had no other solution than to suspend the Russian Paralympic Committee,” Craven said, shaking the air, with a menacing face, referring to the report of Richard McLaren’s commission. Since its inception, this document has been criticized more than once. But if the IOC was very critical of the details and evidence of all the facts that were presented there, then the International Paralympic Committee simply took everything on faith.

We have no reason not to trust Professor Richard McLaren's commission. But the IOC’s decision to admit Russia to the Olympics is their decision. We are a completely different organization,” Philip Craven answered with a sly smile to questions from journalists who hinted to him that this decision was incomprehensible. Moreover, Craven repeated this thesis twice during the press conference.

As Philip Craven said during a press conference, the main reason for anger is information from the McLaren Commission report about 35 missing positive doping tests of Russian athletes between 2012 and 2015. In addition, information later appeared about 10 more samples that, according to WADA, mysteriously disappeared.

Let us note that earlier representatives of the Russian Paralympic Committee said that of the 35 samples that appear in the report of the McLaren Commission, only 20 belong to Russians. And even then, there are questions about them. The rest are not at all clear where they came from. But the IPC did not heed these arguments and ultimately decided to make such a strict statement on August 7, exactly a month before the start of the Paralympic Games.

At the same time, the only chance for our athletes to get to the Paralympic Games is again, like ordinary Olympians, through the courts. The Russian Paralympic Committee has 21 days to file an appeal this decision. If it is rejected, then that’s it - the road to Rio will be closed to ours. If we manage to win this high-profile case, then we will go to Brazil to fight for medals.

The head of the Russian Ministry of Sports, Vitaly Mutko, has already responded to Philip Craven’s statement.

This is an unprecedented decision. I don't understand what it is based on. Looks like it was taken by one person. And he suffers a large number of athletes, people with disabilities. We will fully support the RKR. The RPC needs to go to court. Which one - sports arbitration (CAS) or another - we will figure out, - said Mutko.

Do you imagine me running around with test tubes at night? “Only a sick mind can come up with something like this,” he said indignantly. President of the Russian Paralympic Committee Vladimir Lukin.

There is a month left before the start of the Paralympic Games in Rio, and starting from this day, it seems that a series of lawsuits will open in defense of Russian Paralympians. Until a decision is made on our athletes, no one else will be given a place at the 2016 Paralympics.

SPECIFICALLY

How many Paralympians should go to Rio?

About 270 athletes. The application has already been submitted to the International Paralympic Committee, but it is not known when it will be considered. Together with coaches and support staff, the Russian delegation was supposed to consist of 450 people.

How much do they get?

Russia is the only country in the world that pays exactly the same premium for Paralympic medals as for a regular Olympics. That is, “gold” costs 4 million rubles. “silver” - 2.5 million, for “bronze” - 1.7. Paralympic champions receive a lifetime stipend of 50 thousand per month. Candidates and coaches of the Paralympic and Deaf Olympic teams were awarded scholarships of 35 thousand rubles.

How do they perform?

In Beijing 2008, the Russian team was only 8th in the team competition - 18 gold medals, for example, Ukraine had 24 gold). But already in London 2012, Russian Paralympians were second - 102 medals (of which 36 were gold). Only China is ahead, but with a huge advantage - 231 London medals (of which 95 are gold).

DIRECT SPEECH

Vladimir Lukin: “We are immediately filing a complaint with the court!

We will immediately, with the help of our lawyers, transfer the complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, which we expect will make a decision similar to what was made on the issue of admission to the Olympic Games. So this is just the beginning. If the International Paralympic Committee wants to engage in this kind of second-rate political activity, then that is its right, Lukin said. “I cannot prove that politics is involved in this issue, but there is a very strong smell of politics,” the head of the Paralympic Committee said in an interview with TASS.

READ ALSO

Russian Paralympian Roman Petushkov: Excluding disabled people from the Olympics is simply dishonest

Depriving Russian disabled people of the right to participate in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was an unfair decision towards them. This opinion was expressed on the air of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda by skier, six-time Paralympic champion Roman Petushkov.

“Touching disabled people is, it seems to me, too much. They have already had a lot in life. Their eyes are shining, they want to perform, they are training. They train tirelessly. Not fair,” he said. ()

Nicole Rodomakina: “Sports should not be mixed with politics. The Olympics should remain a holiday that unites people, not quarrels.”

The preliminary application of the Russian national team for participation in the XV Paralympic Summer Games in 2016 included seven athletes from the Samara region. At the top of the list is our athlete, champion of the 2012 Games, Nikol Rodomakina.

The news that they also want to close the Paralympics for Russian athletes came as a complete surprise to her ()

Coach of the Kuban Paralympic archers: this Olympics may be the last chance

Kuban represented 4 athletes for these Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Goalball player Irina Arestova, track and field athlete Angela Alemseitova, and two archers - Svetlana Barantseva and Maragrita Sidorenko.

Svetlana and Margarita have a spinal fracture. Each of them had an accident in childhood, underwent surgery and is now confined to a wheelchair.

Altai Paralympians: “There is still time. Let us hope for the best"

The Russian team also included Altai powerlifters - Irina Kazantseva (silver medalist of the 2008 Games in Beijing - Author's note) and Tamara Podpalnaya, who already has four Paralympics (two gold and two silver). - Note. ed.).

We continue to train. There's still time. Let's hope for the best

Stavropol paratriathlete: Punish the guilty, but the innocent should not answer for them!

The residents of Stavropol were proud that their countrywoman could be the first in history to bring home a medal from paratriathlon, because before this sport was not included in the Olympic program. Anna was supposed to perform among athletes who suffer from damage to the musculoskeletal system

The International Archery Federation stood up for Russian Paralympians

As stated in a statement on the organization’s official website, this decision “contradicts the key principles of fair play” and was made on the basis of a report that, as the IOC and WADA admitted, is incomplete

WADA supported the decision to exclude Paralympic athletes from Russia from the Rio Games

“In a statement, WADA supports the IPC in its decision regarding Russia, which is “done in the interests of ‘clean’ athletes and the ‘purity’ of the entire sports movement.”

Novosibirsk fencers still hope to get to the Paralympics in Rio

On September 1, the guys were supposed to fly to Brazil, but the trip was ahead of the news: the entire Russian team was not allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games. For people who not only step over themselves, but conquer their nature, their illness, this is a real blow.

According to the competition rules, athletes fencing only in wheelchairs, but this does not mean that they are not walking. Both of our athletes move independently, despite the fact that one is an amputee, the other is diagnosed with cerebral palsy,” says Marina Grishchenko, And. O. director of the adaptive sports center Novosibirsk region. - The matter is delicate and scrupulous, the guys have been preparing for four years, and now we have only emotions... The guys are young and very worried about this whole situation, this was supposed to be their first Paralympics, there were so many plans and hopes. And all this was taken and crossed out overnight. If this was already the fifth Paralympics for the guys, maybe it would have been easier for them, but here... Just imagine how nervous it was even without this, how the preparation went... It’s just a pity! ()

Paralympian Dmitry Kokarev: “We continue to train and hope to go to the Paralympics in Rio”

We are prohibited from commenting on this decision,” said three-time Paralympic swimming champion, 25-year-old Nizhny Novgorod resident Dmitry Kokarev, in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda-Nizhny Novgorod. – I can only say that preparations continue. After that, on the contrary, we only became angrier or something - and began to train even more intensely. We don’t just hope, we are confident of a positive outcome and of our victory.

Three Perm Paralympians were suspended from the Rio Games

Among them are three Perm residents who were included in the Russian Paralympic athletics team. And all three are real contenders for medals. This is Evgeny Torsunov, who at the age of 25 won gold at the World Long Jump Championship. Andrey Poroshin, master of sports, who set records in long jump competitions. And Galina Lipatnikova, European record holder in discus throwing

Coach of the Kirov Paralympians: The goal to which they devoted several years of their lives was taken away from people

Many hours of flights, training from morning to night and separation from family - all this is experienced by athletes on the way to their cherished goal. This was exactly the everyday life of Kirov swimmers - Paralympians Ekaterina Kraeva and Mikhail Kulyabin. Having dipped into the pool for the first time in second grade, by the age of 17 they entered the Russian national team for the 2016 Paralympics. But their dreams of gold medals were dashed by the news that our athletes were being suspended from competition.

Komsomolskaya Pravda talked to the athletes’ coach Anna Chikalina and found out how our Paralympic swimmers live now

Rumors that the Russian team could be removed from the Paralympic Games appeared a few days ago, but many did not believe the foreign press, because before the decisive IOC meeting in connection with the main Olympic team, the media also talked about the worst-case scenario, and it all ended almost with a happy ending .

Unfortunately, things turned out differently with the Paralympians. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has decided to ban the Russian team from the Rio Games. in full force based on a report by Richard McLaren.

Let us recall that the document spoke about 35 positive doping tests taken from domestic Paralympic athletes and disappeared without a trace between 2011 and 2015.

“The IPC Council was unanimous in making this decision. We believe that the Russian Paralympic Committee was unable to ensure compliance with doping rules. Consequently, the IPC immediately suspended the membership of the RPC. Russian Paralympians cannot be entered for the 2016 Games, IPC President Philip Craven was quoted as saying by Inside the Games.

“It’s hard for me to convey how saddened we all are by the fact that the state-controlled doping system that existed in Russia has spread to Paralympic sports. The anti-doping system in Russia is destroyed and completely compromised. Therefore, we had no choice in making this decision. I believe, that Russian government has failed its Paralympians terribly. Their desire to achieve results at any cost has seriously harmed the entire sport.

We are talking about a doping system with support at the state level. I wasn't sure of its existence until yesterday, but the facts confirm it. McLaren's ongoing investigation has revealed a further ten fraudulent doping samples. I’m not saying this is just the beginning, but it’s definitely not the end.”

The IPC promised to soon recheck all doping tests of Russians from the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, which our team won with a clear advantage.

However, the Russian Paralympic Committee has 21 more days to appeal the harsh decision. The RKR has already announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“Our reaction will be legal; we will file a claim against the International Paralympic Committee at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne,” Interfax quotes RKR President Vladimir Lukin. “We have been saying this for the last month: we are not mentioned at all in the McLaren report, except for one diagram that says that either 35 or 20 samples disappeared. What does the Russian Paralympic Committee have to do with it? Why do they think that they themselves are less to blame for this, although their ability to access storage was greater than ours?

If they accuse the Russian Paralympic Committee of something, let them formulate the accusations clearly and specifically. They are expelled not for general accusations that we are part of the system, but for the fact that such and such is guilty of such and such.”

Meanwhile, Russian sports officials, of course, unanimously supported the domestic Paralympians and criticized the IPC for the harsh decision. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said there was a lack of common sense in this verdict.

“I have to read what this decision is based on. In my understanding, this is already beyond common sense. If this decision is based on the McLaren report, then the athletes listed there are not Paralympic athletes,” Mutko said.

ROC President Alexander Zhukov noted that the same scenario is playing out with the Paralympic athletes as previously with the main Russian team.

“We see approximately the same story as with the Olympians. Only in this case does the IPC make a verdict. This is an independent organization that is in no way dependent on the IOC. But I believe that the International Olympic Committee has shown how to correctly resolve the issue of suspending an entire country. Will all samples of our Paralympic athletes from the Games in London and Sochi be rechecked? They have a right. The question simply arises: why not reanalyze all samples, and not just Russian ones? We are always for an equal approach,” Sport-Express quotes Zhukov as saying.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spoke out even harsher, calling the removal of domestic Paralympic athletes inhumane and vile.

“The decision to exclude the entire Russian Paralympic team from the Paralympic Games is striking in its meanness and inhumanity. This is a betrayal of the highest human rights standards that underlie modern world“, the official representative of the ministry, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Facebook.

And former heavyweight boxer, now State Duma deputy Nikolai Valuev promised to protect Russian Paralympians to the end.

“This is already in the nature of obvious naked persecution. Now the Paralympic athletes will be on their nerves.

There are no people in the Paralympic team who have used doping at all. It is unclear what arguments and evidence will be given. Or will they talk about scratched covers? Then we can say in the same way: “Guys, didn’t you scratch them on purpose when you were doing your research?” It is impossible to prove that it is not Richard McLaren sitting and ruining doping tests. We can only believe in the absolute purity of their actions, but there is no return trust in us,” Valuev noted in an interview with Championship.com.

— Is there any point in filing a lawsuit? Of course have. Protecting our athletes is our direct responsibility. There is no point in appealing to common sense, logic and conscience of comrades who make such statements.”

The famous singer Diana Gurtskaya decided to contact the IPC herself with a letter. In it, she noted that the decision made regarding the Russian team goes against one of the basic principles of the Paralympic movement - the principle of equality, and asked the committee to consider each application individually.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world did not support Russian Paralympians. The IPC decision was approved by the national Paralympic associations of Britain, Germany, and Ukraine.

“That’s it, fair and correct solution. There must be inevitable and strict responsibility for building a state system of doping. Let me remind you that the Russian national team has been Ukraine’s main competitor at the Paralympic Games for decades,” Ukrainian Sports Minister Igor Zhdanov wrote on his Facebook.

Supported by the IPC and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“WADA supports the decision on Russian Paralympians made by the IPC, which, in our opinion, protects the interests of “clean” athletes and cleanses the sport. The IPC's decision is fully consistent with the recommendations made by WADA on July 18 based on an investigation by an independent commission led by Richard McLaren,” WADA said in a statement.

However, there were also those who took the side of Russia. The International Archery Federation (WA) called the exclusion of domestic Paralympians from the Rio Games unfair.

“We strongly disagree with the ban, which goes against the principles of fair play, and believe that the decision was made on the basis of a report that is incomplete and must be further developed until it is completed, as stated by WADA and the IOC,” cites a statement from WA Inside the Games.

— WA discussed the suspension of the Russian Paralympic team from the 2016 Games with other federations. We have all come to the conclusion that the IPC's decision was taken without any proper consultation with the respective federations and was not in their best interests. The IPC's decision calls into question the reputation of WA and all international federations."

You can get acquainted with other news, materials and statistics at Rio 2016, as well as in the sports department groups on social networks

The Russian national team will miss the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The decision was made by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) based on the report of the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Richard McLaren. The Russian side has already protested the verdict at the Lausanne Arbitration for Sports. Lenta.ru is looking into the circumstances of the incident.

Against the background of the unfolding war over the fate of Russian Olympians, the news that the IPC is going to consider the issue of disqualifying the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) went almost unnoticed. Meanwhile, the organization opened a corresponding case against the PKR on July 22. The reason was the notorious report of the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) headed by Richard McLaren. It turned out that there are at least 35 Paralympic athletes on the list of domestic athletes involved in doping fraud.

The leapfrog with a wave of suspensions and admissions of domestic Olympians continued until the start of the opening ceremony on August 5, and again no one remembered the Paralympians. The alarm bell rang on August 6: the British publication The Guardian published an article claiming that the fate of the Russians was predetermined, and they would definitely not be able to participate in the competition. The publication also stated that representatives of the IPC and the RKR held a three-hour meeting to discuss the current state of affairs.

The reaction from the RKR was not long in coming. The president of the organization, Vladimir Lukin, called the information about the suspension of the Russian team from the Games in Rio de Janeiro “journalistic speculation”: “After our conversation, it was decided that by Sunday, August 7, at 6 o’clock Moscow time, the IPC will formulate its decision . There’s nothing to discuss now.”

The head of the IPC, Philip Craven, when announcing the decision on the Russians, was brief: “We spent a lot of time studying the McLaren report, listened to the Russian side, but they were unable to prove that they were right. We are temporarily suspending the membership of the RKR and, thus, do not allow the Russian team to participate in the Paralympic Games.”

What happened in 2014? According to the IPC, everything is very clear. “There is evidence that samples were swapped during the Paralympics in Sochi. 21 samples from 7 Russian athletes from the 2014 Olympics were retested, we conducted a new investigation after McLaren's report. It turned out that only 19 samples could be properly tested, and scratches were found on 18 covers, which proves that they were opened and used again,” Craven said.

In addition, he expressed regret over what was happening and sympathy for the “pure” Russian Paralympians, but noted that he had no other choice. And he added that they were let down by the government, which turned a blind eye to the development of the doping system in domestic sports. What did the RKR and the Ministry of Sports respond to this? The reaction was approximately the same as to the numerous suspensions of domestic Olympians, who in most cases were clearly hinted that saving drowning people was the work of the drowning people themselves.

Statements full of righteous anger followed from everywhere. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko was in his usual bewilderment in recent weeks: “This is an unprecedented decision. I don't understand what it is based on. Looks like it was taken by one person. And a large number of athletes and people with disabilities suffer. “We will fully support the RKR,” Mutko promised. - RKR needs to go to court. To Arbitration for Sports (CAS) or another.”

He was echoed by the deputy head of the State Duma Committee on physical culture, sports and youth affairs Sergei Poddubny: “The same thing is repeating itself, as it happened with the Olympic team. If there is evidence, let it be voiced, let it be presented, and those athletes who actually violated the doping law must be punished.”

Our Paralympic Committee, taught by the bitter experience of the brothers in misfortune from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), took the bull by the horns and has already filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). “We just filed an appeal with CAS. Will be reviewed in due course. This is all black PR for citizen Craven,” Lev Seleznev, president of the All-Russian Federation of Sports for Persons with Musculoskeletal Disabilities (PODA), said in an interview with R-Sport.

The RPC has 21 days to back up its words with actions and seek a review of the IPC decision. After all, as Craven emphasized, Russian athletes will not be able to compete at the Paralympics in Brazil individually; they can only be admitted to the Games as a single team. At the same time, as reported, he admitted that the Russians still have a chance to fix everything: “I think that Russian athletes will have time to return and compete in Rio. True, it all depends on when the appeal is filed and how quickly it is considered.”

It is clear that our athletes do not expect any special sympathy or pity, they only need the right to participate in, perhaps, the main competitions of their entire lives. I would like to believe that this time Russian officials will not shyly avert their eyes and stand on the sidelines, but will do everything possible and impossible to prevent a repetition of the scenario with Russian weightlifters and track and field athletes.

On the ban on the participation of Russian Paralympians in the Olympics in Brazil

“How were two decisions made based on one report?” Member of the Council of Athletes of the International Paralympic Committee Mikhail Terentyev reveals the background to the scandal surrounding our team at the 2016 Games.

The ban on the participation of Russian Paralympians in the Olympics in Brazil sounded like a bolt from the blue: after the IOC de facto allowed the majority of the Olympic team in Rio, such a harsh attitude towards disabled athletes seemed at least illogical. Of course, there is still time before the Paralympics - it will begin in September, so there is a chance to challenge this decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). But what is behind it? “Ogonyok” asked Mikhail Terentyev, member of the Council of Athletes of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), chairman of the All-Russian Society of Disabled Persons, State Duma deputy and winner of six Paralympic Games, about this.

"Ogonyok": - Mikhail Borisovich, what kind of doping can we talk about when they talk about Paralympic athletes - people who are sometimes forced to constantly take medications?

Mikhail Terentyev: - Disabled people involved in elite sports are not frail people. Disability is not a disease, but a condition of the body. So Olympic and Paralympic sports differ only in the rules for classifying athletes. For Paralympians, this means that wheelchair users must compete with wheelchair users, and blind people with blind people. But the doping requirements for both Olympians and Paralympians are the same. As well as permission for the therapeutic use of drugs - this is possible only on the recommendation of a doctor in cases where it is vitally necessary for the health of the athlete. The procedure for informing WADA about an athlete taking medications is also the same.

- Are the lists of prohibited drugs also the same?

Yes, the list is general, and it is approved by WADA, and control is carried out by the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. National Committees, including the Russian one (RKR), are deprived of the right to interfere in the process.

- That is, the Russian Paralympians were accused of using doping, and not drugs?

Nothing like this! The accusation does not relate to the use of doping by Paralympic athletes, but to the fact that Russia has a state program that is aimed at the use of prohibited methods and drugs. The West suspects that at the state level all these violations are hidden from other countries. If we were talking specifically about doping, athletes would be disqualified individually based on doping tests. But the Olympic athletes or the entire Russian Paralympic team were not suspended because positive result doping tests, but because, according to WADA, the RCC cannot function normally under the current conditions.

- Why was the entire Paralympic team suspended?

That is why the decision of the IPC came as such a shock to us! How, according to information from the same report, two such different solutions? Absurd!

- But is there at least some logic here?

The IOC and IPC are guided by the following consideration... Since sports are structurally managed by sports federations, which submit applications for the Games, in the Olympic system the decision was left to these same federations. The Paralympians have a different system: there are several Summer Olympic sports that are directly managed by the IPC (for example, athletics, shooting, swimming, powerlifting). Therefore, the decision to remove the Russians had to be made by the IPC, and they could not remove themselves, as the IOC did. And there could only be one solution for the entire team. It was adopted on the basis of data from the report of Richard McLaren (independent expert of WADA. - “O”), which discussed, I repeat, the alleged creation of a state doping system.

- Were there any precedents in the history of the Olympic movement?

There was no suspension of the national team due to doping, but there were political accusations against states, for example, of violating human rights. Just like there were suspensions of national teams by Nazi Germany and South Africa during the apartheid regime. Therefore, the newly created anti-doping commission headed by Vitaly Smirnov proposed that the Russian anti-doping agency be coordinated not by the Ministry of Sports, but by the Ministry of Health. This should break the imaginary “vertical” of the supposedly existing doping corruption system in the imagination of foreigners.

- And what conclusion was drawn from what happened?

WADA needs serious reform. This is not my thought, but that of IOC President Thomas Bach. Because the anti-doping rule enforcement organization must provide all information clearly and concisely at once. What's the reality? WADA first announces the accusation, and then presents the documents piece by piece. It seems like a reputable organization, but it behaves like a card sharper. Until July 18, there were no claims by the IPC against the PKR. All this time there was active correspondence. Immediately after November last year, the RPC issued an explanation regarding the track and field athletes, notifying the IPC that Paralympians train separately from Olympians. At the same time they asked the IPC if there were any complaints, and there were none. And WADA answered a similar question with the same answer. And suddenly - a report on July 18 with 35 doping tests. We asked to provide at least the names of the sports where there are violators, or better yet their names - silence in response. A week later they sent the list and immediately showed up themselves: they say, we began to figure it out, of these 35 people, 20 are not your athletes. Okay, we agreed and asked again to send data only on our athletes. Sent. Let's look: on the list there is, for example, an athlete whose doping test, according to WADA, was changed at the Olympics in Sochi. We find out: this athlete was not in Sochi. Further on the list is “freestyle wrestling”... We turn to WADA for clarification: what kind of sport is this? Because he is not among the Paralympic athletes. But WADA, apparently, did not even look at the official website of the IOC to find out... And on August 3, the IPC reported that WADA had either 10 or 19 more violators. We wanted to look at the surnames. We waited and looked: someone had been disqualified for a long time, someone was using drugs for therapeutic purposes, which was announced in a timely manner, and some of the names of non-existent “heroes”, there are no such athletes. I am for tough decisions to be made only on the basis of verified data.

- Can the decision of the IPC be appealed?

Such work is already underway. The RKR and the IPC decided to speed up the procedure and file a claim not with a special commission, but with international sports arbitration. It will meet on August 21.

- What role did the desire to eliminate medal competitors play in making the decision to suspend Russian Paralympians?

I cannot answer this question, because the answer will be from the category of speculation. But you can draw your own conclusions if you analyze the number of medals received by our Paralympic team in Sochi and London, and ask how Great Britain itself ended up in third place there... Of course, Phil Craven (president of the IPC - “O”) to you will not say that he was guided by such motives when making his decision. But there is a point that can indirectly confirm your guess... Several years ago, the program of the Summer Games was analyzed, and the criteria were determined on the basis of which sports were selected for the Games in Rio. Thus, football for people with cerebral palsy will be held in Brazil for the last time. It has already been excluded from the program of the Tokyo 2020 Games due to the fact that there were few teams. It’s probably a coincidence, but for 15 years now, medals in this sport have been alternately received by the Russian and Ukrainian teams. There is a type of competition when amputees put the shot put... Our Alexey Ashapatov has been in the lead more than once, and in Rio this discipline is excluded - there are few athletes. It is difficult to prove anything because the IPC has its own arguments - they advocate for Paralympic sports to be more competitive.

We know that 50 percent of the Anti-Doping Agency is funded by the IOC, and the other half comes from some independent sources. But what are these sources and how much do they influence decision making?

- Will suspended Paralympic athletes go to court?

First, let's wait for the sports arbitration verdict and read its wording. If the verdict is negative, of course, they will file. The athletes prepared, they spent effort, money, and time. But first we need to understand the facts. And then with WADA to understand how independently they make decisions. We know that 50 percent of the Anti-Doping Agency is funded by the IOC, and the other half comes from some independent sources. But what are these sources and how much do they influence decision making? I personally have not heard of the IPC funding WADA.

- Are the Paralympic Games really experiencing their heyday now?

Yes, and, in my opinion, this is due in no small part to the enormous social role of the Games. They change society. Looking at how Paralympic athletes perform, people understand that if disabled people have such potential in sports, then it can be in all areas of life. The games are watched by 3 billion people. And this affects everyone who is in the stadiums and in front of the screens: first of all, on other disabled people sitting at home and afraid to leave it. Not to mention the fact that only those states that can create an “accessible environment” in the cities where they are held are allowed to receive a bid to host the Paralympic Games. Local disabled people also benefit from this, not only athletes and participants in the Games.

- Russian Olympians are booed in Rio. Should Paralympians be subjected to such stress?

I agree that such an attitude is stressful for any athlete. Of course, this is not the case in Russia, but in Rio there is a different information space, where all events are presented differently. It's no wonder viewers react this way. But it would be right, perhaps, only for officials to refuse a trip to Rio. For the 268 members of our Paralympic team, who prepared for 4 years, went through a tough selection (there were twice as many applicants), participated in the World and European Championships, this would be a failure. How can you deprive them of the fight they deserve?

Must go! Novaya Gazeta calls on the world media to support Russian Paralympians

Message from the Editors " Novaya Gazeta» to foreign colleagues

Dear Colleagues! This letter is addressed to you, the journalists and editors of the world's largest media outlets. We have known each other for a long time. We have a long-term relationship of cooperation. Our materials were often published on your pages - you know very well that our editorial position, to put it mildly, differs from the official one. Novaya Gazeta is the winner of many awards. This year, you, colleagues, awarded us the Golden Pen Freedom Award, established by the World Newspaper Publishers Association (WAN-IFRA). This gives us the right to turn to you for support in the cause of our Paralympic team.

The Russian Paralympic team will be suspended from participation in the Games. The verdict was announced by the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Craven, and can only be appealed in court. If the verdict remains in force, it will not be a blow either to the Russian authorities or to specific violators of anti-doping legislation. This will be a blow to innocent athletes. For their family and friends. For everyone who sees hope and the living force of example in the Paralympic movement. This will be a blow to us, Novaya Gazeta journalists: we are responsible for those whom we sincerely and actively help.

We are well aware that the purity of the Paralympic movement is subject to many temptations - in the same way as high performance sports.

We understand that during the “race for medals” there could be violations. Perhaps even systemic, although the evidence base does not correspond to the global nature of the conclusions of the World Anti-Doping Agency commission led by Richard McLaren and, most importantly, the targeting and severity of the punishment.

The International Olympic Committee has recognized that clean athletes should not automatically be held accountable for the sins of their individual colleagues, much less for the sins of the state. Accept that disabled athletes must bear great responsibility than the athletes admitted to the current Games is nonsense. And you should know: thanks to just one Paralympian, an entire city area with a barrier-free environment is created. Such is life in Russia.

We know many Paralympic athletes, including winners and medalists of the Paralympic Games. Most of them are people of exceptional courage, unbending will and honesty. We admit, however, that even in this environment unscrupulous athletes could appear, victims of the ambitions of officials. But this cannot be a reason for total punishment of all members of the Russian Paralympic team preparing for the September Games in Rio. You have to understand that for most of them, sport is almost the only light in the window. If it is closed, the inevitability of many, many individual tragedies is obvious.

But no less scary is that the consequences of such a step are absolutely not calculated. To believe that the isolation of Russian Paralympic athletes will change the current Russian government is an evil utopia.

Sports triumphs cannot be the main indicator of a country's greatness. Russia still has a long way to go to understand this simple truth. But isolation is unlikely to speed up this path. Especially if the ban directly concerns the most vulnerable category of athletes.

The laureate joins our request to admit the Russian Paralympic team to the Games in Rio de Janeiro Nobel Prize world, shareholder of Novaya Gazeta Mikhail Gorbachev.

There is a continuation: the Russian Paralympic Committee has begun raising funds to protect the interests of the team in international sports arbitration

http://www.novayagazeta.ru/sports/74180.html