Tanni Grey-Thompson ‘would really love’ Ukraine to top medal table in Beijing

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has welcomed the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Winter Paralympics and hopes Ukraine will top the medal table in Beijing.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) initially said athletes from those countries could compete under a neutral flag despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a decision Grey-Thompson called a “cop-out” and “virtue signalling”.

And the 16-time Paralympic medallist believes a number of countries would have boycotted the Games if the IPC had not performed a U-turn on Thursday.

“I think there would have been governments that would have pulled their teams,” Grey-Thompson told the PA news agency.

“A lot of Paralympic Committees are funded through government money so the countries have the power to do that. I think NPCs (National Paralympic Committees) and individual athletes would have done it.

“I’ve never believed in boycotts, I’ve never supported them. I don’t think they do any good and it’s the athletes that come out worst.

“The administrators keep their jobs and politics keep going and I think athletes need to have a platform, but this is a completely different situation.

“It’s hard for the IPC because they are right on the eve of the games. It’s OK for the IOC and FIFA to make big statements when there’s not a big event going on.

I don’t think I’ve ever said anything quite like this, but I hope Ukraine tops the medal table and it’s just a teeny, tiny bit of a shining light for them back in Ukraine. I would really love to see that- Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

“But I think just the pressure they had in the last 24 hours and the tension in the village meant it wasn’t going to be tenable for so many reasons.”

IPC president Andrew Parsons said