The Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to take part in the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing, which start tomorrow, under a neutral flag. That’s what the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decided after the Belarus-backed Russian invasion of Ukraine. “They will compete under the Paralympic flag and will not appear on the medal table,” the IPC said in a statement.
In making the decision, the committee was guided by the IPC’s fundamental principles, which include a commitment to political neutrality and impartiality and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of sport.
“This decision must be respected,” said Maria Rauch-Kallat, President of the Austrian Paralympic Committee (ÖPC). Now the sport should have the floor. The red-white-red delegation consists of almost 60 people, a total of around 600 athletes in six sports and 78 different competitions are chasing medals.
Entire family at the start
Austria’s team is represented in four sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon and snowboarding. Rauch-Kallat did not want to commit himself to a precious metal target. “The most important thing is that everyone gets home safely,” she said. Knowing full well that after ten medals at the 2022 Para Ski World Championships, the prospects are rosy.
In the alpine division, 13 active athletes will start – starting with the veteran Markus Salcher (fourth games) via the Aigner clan to the only 15-year-old Elina Stary. Salcher, twice his age, not only won double gold in Sochi in 2014, but also at the most recent Para Ski World Championships. The shape fits.
“In the end everything worked out for me. Here in China the snow is a bit like in North America, that’s good for me. I know what I can do. My goal is a medal – no matter the color,” said the Carinthian.
What is special is that the entire Aigner family from Lower Austria is working in Beijing. Veronika Aigner drives with sister Elisabeth as a guide, both were disabled athletes of the year in 2020. In addition, brother Johannes (16) returns after a serious knee injury and a car accident. He drives with guide Matteo Fleischmann, who in turn is in a relationship with Klara Sykora, guide of Johannes’ twin sister Barbara Aigner. Sykora (19), in turn, is the daughter of the slalom Olympic bronze medalist in 1998, Thomas Sykora.
Paralympics in Beijing (March 4-13)
The Austrian team:
Nordic skiing (biathlon and cross-country skiing): Carina Edlinger (S/Guide Lorenz Lampl)
Snowboarding: Rene Eckhart (T), Bernhard Hammerl (T)
Alpine skiing: Barbara Aigner (Lower Austria/Guide Klara Sykora), Johannes Aigner (Lower Austria/Guide Matteo Fleischmann), Veronika Aigner (Lower Austria/Guide Elisabeth Aigner), Markus Gfatterhofer (S), Thomas Grochar (K), Eva-Maria Jöchl ( T), Nico Pajantschitsch (K), Roman Rabl (T), Manuel Rachbauer (T), Markus Salcher (K), Michael Scharnagl (T/Guide Florian Erharter), Christoph Schneider (S), Elina Stary (K/Guide Celine Arthofer)
The Paralympics on TV: Friday, 11.55 a.m. opening ceremony (ORF 1); from Saturday daily live reports from 2.55 a.m. (ORF Sport+) and several daily summaries (ORF 1 and ORF Sport+).
The virtual Austria House (www.oepc.at) reports from Vienna and Beijing every day from 7:30 p.m.
Source: Nachrichten
