Geraint Hughes
Sports News Correspondent
Winter Paralympics 2026: Why the games are controversial and uncomfortable with 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus set to compete under own flags
Sky Sports News' Geraint Hughes looks at some big stories ahead of the Winter Paralympics including the controversy over Russian and Belarusian involvement, the impact of the war between the United States and Iran, and Paralympics GB's medal hopes
Last Updated: 05/03/26 8:19pm
The Paralympic movement is no stranger to controversy: it's had to deal with it a fair bit in recent history.
Much has centred around the classification and eligibility systems, which have led to accusations of cheating in the past.
Perhaps one of the most infamous events took place during the 2000 Sydney Paralympics after Spain had won a basketball gold in the intellectual disability category. One of the members of the team was an undercover journalist who alleged that none of the team had undergone testing by Spanish authorities - to qualify to compete in that category, athletes' IQs had to be set at a maximum of 75.
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Subsequent investigations revealed 10 of the 12 strong team did not have intellectual disabilities and Spain were stripped of their title and ordered to return their gold medals.
However, the controversies surrounding the 2026 Milano-Cortina Paralympics are altogether of a different nature.
War and conflict are at the heart of the issues.
Last September at a General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) a vote was taken by 177 of 211 IPC members on whether to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flag, logos and emblems - basically to bring them back in from the cold.
The vote went in favour of reinstating Russia and Belarus, who had previously been banned due to Russia's war in Ukraine since 2023, but had actually not competed as nations at a Paralympics since the Sochi 2014 Games.
While the vote was from a majority of IPC members, it didn't go down well with many, especially Ukraine: 177 votes, 91 in favour of lifting the suspension of Russia and Belarus imposed in 2023. It was a majority, just.
Why was this decision made when all other international sporting events, including the IOC/Olympics, FIFA and UEFA still ban Russia and Belarus?
During the recent Winter Olympics, momentum and criticism of the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paralympics grew. At those Games, a handful of athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete as neutral athletes, meaning they could not wear any national logos, emblems, fly their flag or have their anthem played.
The vetting process was viewed as stringent, trying to rule out any athlete who had a connection to the Russian military or the war against Ukraine. So why has the IPC bucked the status quo?
It is difficult to answer with certainty as any IPC General Assembly vote is done by secret ballot, with that ballot taking place almost six months ago.
For some, it's the age-old argument that politics and sport shouldn't mix. For the Paralympic movement, whose ultimate goal is to promote and enhance the greatness of athletes who overcome significant disabilities to compete at an elite level in sport, an argument was made that athletes with disabilities from Russia and Belarus shouldn't be penalised just because of the actions of Vladimir Putin. They are seen as innocents in the mire of a war.
However, for many that distinction cannot made as Russia is viewed as one of the great propagandists of our age. The Russian Government, via its Paralympic Association, will use the global eyeballs on the Paralympics as an opportunity to promote their cause at the cost of others, most notably Ukraine. Another view is that the proliferation of global conflicts over the past few years mean, for some, it's a challenge to exclude anyone.
Perhaps never before has the IPC made such an unpopular decision, one that is dividing the movement. As a result so far, seven nations will officially boycott the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Paralympics due to the inclusion of Russia and Belarus.
A full boycott has not happened... yet... but on top of the seven nations who will refuse to participate in Friday's Opening Ceremony in Verona at least four other nations including Paralympics GB won't be present, citing performance reasons - the Opening Ceremony is in Verona on Friday night, competition gets under way in Cortina - which is three hours away at 9am Saturday morning.
It is also worth noting that several Governments, including the UK, have expressed their disappointment and dissatisfaction with the IPC decision to allow Russian athletes to compete as 'Russians'.
The whole situation is further complicated by the fact that the six para-sports that form the Paralympics are all governed independently from the IPC and five of them had a ban in place on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Those five sporting federations all disagreed with the IPC and wanted to enforce their bans during these Paralympics. They lost that argument after their case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
It has left a discomfort hanging over the Paralympics that isn't what the Games are about. If there is a place where top elite athletes go at one another on the field of play, but outside of that there is a greater celebration of achievement, it should be the Paralympics - yet with the Games about to start the conversation is dominated by the participation of a Russian and Belarusian delegation and concern over how any political or propaganda messaging will be used.
A Russian flag will fly at a major international sporting event, something that has not happened in several years. Ten athletes, six from Russia and four from Belarus, are the beneficiaries.
Gulf conflict impacts Paralympics
The IPC won't give out numbers or the nations that have been affected by the recent missile strikes involving Iran, Israel and the USA. However, people who are meant to be in Italy for the Paralympics are not here because of the conflict in the Gulf.
As many as 50 members of delegations are having severe difficulties getting to Italy. That doesn't mean athletes, necessarily, but on top of the 655 athletes expected to compete there are more who form the backbone of the various national delegations.
With airspace closed to commercial air traffic and airports closed in Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, it's perhaps no surprise that the Paralympics have been impacted. Many attempting to reach Melbourne for the opening round of the new F1 season have faced issues as their travel plans routed them through the Gulf region.
While not commenting on numbers or nations, the IPC President - Andrew Parsons - with a degree of angst, made a point at a press conference in Cortina before the Games officially open that this is the third Games within the last four of either an Olympic or Paralympic Games that a war has started or been under way.
Paralympics GB and their aims
As with Team GB at the recent Olympics, Paralympics GB have also been set a medal range by UK Sport - the body which distributes money for elite sport. Paralympics GB have been set a target range of two-to-five medals at Milano-Cortina.
The team is 12-strong and all have earned selection because they've achieved on the world stage, and also for some of the younger athletes because they have the potential to medal at future Games.
A standout name to keep an eye on is 27-year-old Menna Fitzpatrick. She's already a six-time Paralympic medallist and will take part in the Para-Alpine events with her guide Katie Guest. Fitzpatrick was a major doubt for the Games following injury, but her rehab has gone well, meaning she was available for selection.
Reigning Super-G Olympic Champion Neil Simpson defends his title with brother Andrew, who is his guide. Neil, who is visually impaired, skied to gold with his brother at the 2022 Beijing Games and also took bronze in the Super-Combined.
Also on the snow, but on snowboards rather than skis, Nina Sparks becomes Paralympics GB's first female snowboarder.
She recently won bronze at the prestigious Steamboat World Cup in February, while 38-year-old Davy Zyw from Edinburgh also marks a first for Paralympics GB - he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2018 and is the first British athlete with MND to compete at a Paralympic Games. Zyw has some form coming into the Games having won two silvers this season at Big White in Canada.
In addition to some established names, three teenagers will compete at Milano-Cortina. Dom Allen, 16, will compete in the standing Para Alpine events, Slalom and Giant-Slalom. Hester Poole, 18, and 19-year-old Sam Cozens will also take to the slopes in the visually impaired Alpine category.
