Belarus at the 2026 Winter Paralympics
| Belarus at the 2026 Winter Paralympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IPC code | BLR |
| NPC | Paralympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus |
| in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy 6–15 March 2026 | |
| Competitors | 4 in 1 sport |
| Medals |
|
| Winter Paralympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Soviet Union (1988).svg/40px-Paralympic_flag_(1988-1994).svg.png){kind=small} Unified Team (1992) | |
Belarus will compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, between 6 and 15 March 2026.[1] It is Belarus first appearance at the Winter Paralympics under its own flag since 2018.
Background
[edit]On 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee condemned the breach of the Olympic Truce (which lasts from the beginning of the Olympics through the end of the Paralympics) by Russia and Belarus.[2] On 28 February 2022, the IOC Executive Board further called for Russian and Belarusian athletes not to be included in or allowed to participate in any international sporting event.[3] On 2 March 2022, the IPC declared that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be included independently under or allowed to participate independently under the Paralympic flag, with their results not counting in the medal standings.[4][5] As a result of criticism by several National Paralympic Committees, who threatened to boycott the Games, the IPC announced on 3 March 2022 that they would reverse their earlier decision, banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.[6][7][8] The 83 Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Games were asked to leave the Olympic Village: among them, several Belarusian cross-country skiers (Yury Holub, Sviatlana Sakhanenka, and Valiantsina Shyts) had won at least one medal in the previous Paralympic Nordic Ski World Championships.
At general assembly in Seoul in September 2025, the IPC voted to revoke sanctions against Russia and Belarus, reacquiring rights and privileges of IPC members. However, since they were not yet able to participate in the competitions organised by the federations, no athlete would have been able to qualify in time for 2026 Winter Paralympics. So, on 17th February 2026, the IPC granted six wildcards to Russian athletes and four to Belarusian for the 2026 Paralympic Games with their flags. As sign of protest, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine will boycott the opening ceremony.[9][10][11][12][13]
Competitors
[edit]Belarus will compete in cross-country skiing after being granted wild card slots; the athletes are evenly split between male and female.[14] The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Para cross-country skiing | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Para cross-country skiing
[edit]Belarus is scheduled to compete in para cross-country skiing.
- Men
| Athlete | Class | Event | Qualification | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| Raman Svirydzenka | LW4 | Sprint classical, standing | ||||||
| 10 km classical, standing | N/a | |||||||
| 20 km freestyle, standing | N/a | |||||||
- Women
| Athlete | Class | Event | Qualification | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| Valiantsina Biryla | LW10.5 | Sprint, sitting | ||||||
| 10 km, sitting | N/a | |||||||
| 20 km, sitting | N/a | |||||||
| Lidziya Loban | LW12 | Sprint, sitting | ||||||
| 10 km, sitting | N/a | |||||||
| 20 km, sitting | N/a | |||||||
| Darya Fedzkovich | LW4 | Sprint classical, standing | ||||||
| 10 km classical, standing | N/a | |||||||
| 20 km freestyle, standing | N/a | |||||||
- Relay
| Athletes | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 2.5km mixed relay |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Milano Cortina 2026 | Paralympics New Zealand". www.paralympics.org.nz. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ Shefferd, Neil (24 February 2022). "IOC strongly condemns breach of Olympic Truce by Russian Government". InsideTheGames.biz. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "IOC EB recommends no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials". International Olympic Committee (Press release). 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "IPC makes decisions regarding RPC and NPC Belarus" (Press release). International Paralympic Committee. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Lloyd, Owen (2 March 2022). "Russian and Belarusian athletes to still receive medals at Beijing 2022 despite sanctions". InsideTheGames.biz. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland's Letter to Team USA Community Regarding IPC Announcement". Team USA. 2 March 2022.
- ^ "IPC to decline athlete entries from RPC and NPC Belarus for Beijing 2022". paralympic.org. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Houston, Michael (3 March 2022). "Athletes from Russia and Belarus banned from competing at Beijing 2022 Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Panja, Tariq (18 February 2026). "Russia's Exile From World Sports Will End Next Month at Paralympics". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Winter Paralympics 2026: Six Russians and four Belarusians to compete under national flags". BBC Sport. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Nederlandse officials uit protest niet naar openingsceremonie Paralympische Spelen". nos.nl (in Dutch). 24 February 2026. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (28 February 2026). "Winter Paralympics walks tightrope as Russia's inclusion risks ceremony boycott". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ "More nations skip Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony as boycott grows". Reuters. 27 February 2026.
- ^ "Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympics". dw.com. Retrieved 26 February 2026.