Why Russians probably won't be banned from the Paralympics

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Three days from the opening ceremony, the Canadian Paralympic Committee addressed the biggest issue surrounding the upcoming Winter Games. In a statement released the morning, the CPC said it believes "Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to compete at international sporting events, including the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing" following the invasion of Ukraine.

This came a day after several large sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and the Canadian Olympic Committee, joined the chorus of voices either calling for Russian and/or Belarusian athletes to be banned from international sporting events or actually announcing such bans. The Paralympic committees of the United States, Great Britain and Germany were among those who had already voiced (with varying degrees of forcefulness) their view that Russians and Belarusians should not compete in Beijing.

The International Paralympic Committee is expected to announce a decision on the status of those athletes on Wednesday in China, following a board meeting to discuss the matter. But, judging by the signals over the past couple of days, don't expect that decision to go in favour of Canada and the other countries aligned with its position.

When the IOC yesterday called for international sports federations and event organizers to exclude Russians and Belarusians from their competitions, it conceded that this may be very difficult (if not impossible) on such short notice for certain events. The IOC specifically mentioned the upcoming Paralympics as an example, and said the IPC had its