Russians get green light to compete as neutral athletes at Winter Paralympics

• Russian Paralympic Committee team cleared to take part
• Belarus will also participate as neutrals' in Beijing

The International Paralympic Committee confirmed on Wednesday morning that it will allow Russian athletes to compete at the Winter Games which begin in Beijing this week.

An emergency meeting of the IPC's executive committee determined that it would not ban Russia's 72 athletes, despite the invasion of Ukraine. The team will compete as neutral athletes under the name of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), a sanction that was already in place due to the preceding Russian doping scandal, and their results will not be counted in the medal table. A similar sanction will apply to athletes from Belarus.