'This is a miracle': Ukraine team reveals harrowing Paralympics act
The head of Ukraine's Paralympic team has talked about the difficulty some athletes underwent just to make it to China for the 2022 Games.
With Russian athletes and teams increasingly banned from competing in sporting events around the world, Paralympics chiefs initially bucked the trend and allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag.
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This decision caused international backlash and only 24 hours later, the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) has reversed its decision on Russian athletes and banned them from participating at this year's event.
Ukraine's Paralympic committee president Valeriy Sushkevych expressed how important it was for the athletes to be competing in this year's Games.
"Not coming here would have been taking the easy option... Our presence at the Paralympics is not merely a presence, this is a sign that Ukraine is and will remain a country," Sushkevych told reporters.
Sushkevych went on to say how difficult it was for some of the athletes to escape the war-torn country due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.
This is an incredible press conference.
Ukrainian Paralympic officials explaining the nightmare that exists in their country. What they had to go through to get here. How important it was to be here.
"We could not afford not having the existence of Ukraine at the Paralympics"— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) March 3, 2022
"More than four days and four nights we (took to) come here," he added.
"It's a miracle that we're here... A part of our team was already abroad. A part of our team was in Ukraine. All the necessary equipment was in Ukraine... We had to unite all those parts.
"It is 25 years I am president of the national Paralympic committee of the Ukraine. And never was it so difficult, so heavy to come to the Paralympic Games."
Sushkevych mentioned that some of the athletes were directly in Russia's firing line as they tried to leave Ukraine.
"Many of our team members had difficulties escaping the bombs," he added.
Russian athletes banned from Paralympics
The IPC gave into the pressure coming from teams allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes, without their colours, flags and other national symbols.
It cited threats from National Paralympic Committees, teams and athletes not to compete, saying such a boycott would jeopardise the Games' viability.
"In the last 12 hours, an overwhelming number of members have been in touch with us," IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a statement.
"They have told us that if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
"Multiple NPCs, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete.
"Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating and has now become untenable."
This was a tough decision for many Russian and Belarusian athletes that had already arrived in China for the 2022 Paralympics Games.
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