MOSCOW, March 13, Vasily Bogdanov. Three-time Paralympic champion Belarusian skier Svetlana Sakhonenko admitted that the news about the removal of athletes from Belarus and Russia from the Paralympics in Beijing shocked her. On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions due to the situation around Russia and Ukraine. On March 2, the teams of Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate in the Paralympics in Beijing. After 17 hours, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) changed its mind and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Games. looked at each other in confusion, could not understand. We invested so much work and health in preparation, and everything was crossed out in one moment. It was very painful and insulting. I consider the removal of us from the Games in Beijing fundamentally unfair and wrong, «said Sakhonenko to journalists. On Sunday, the Belarusian athletes flew to Moscow, from where on the night of March 14 they will go to Khanty-Mansiysk, where the competitions for Paralympians «We are together. Sport» will be held. At the Games, it is planned to compete for awards in six sports — cross-country skiing, biathlon, curling, snowboarding, alpine skiing and sledge hockey.
