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The Russian flag was flown at an international sporting event for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine on Friday night, an act met largely by silence, as the Winter Paralympic Games got under way with a high-end opening ceremony in Verona.
Dance, music and visual art combined in a beguiling hour-long performance, celebrating the Paralympic movement and stressing the importance of physical access for people with disabilities, all in a Roman amphitheatre made accessible just for the event. But the eyes of the crowd and a global audience were on the parade of athletes passing into the Arena di Verona.
With as many as half the 56 competing countries choosing not to send athletes to the ceremony, some in protest, others in preparation for the Games, the athletes’ procession was less joyous than is customary and all flags were carried by local volunteers. Each country was welcomed on to the stage warmly, however, but when four Russian athletes emerged there was noise only from the Russian delegation who cheered and waved flags. When volunteers carrying the flag of Ukraine entered the arena shortly after, the applause was loud and widespread.
Since the assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition last year, controversy around these Games has been inevitable. Earlier in the day, however, the president of the IPC, Andrew Parsons, was forced to acknowledge the impact of another global conflict, as the assault on Iran by the US and Israel had left the country’s solitary winter Paralympian, cross-country skier Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, unable to safely leave his country.
At the last Winter Games in Beijing, Parsons used his opening address to make an impassioned call for peace in the direct aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In Verona, he sought to avoid politics. “Four years ago I said I was horrified at what was happening in the world. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved,” he said. “In a world where countries are better known by the names of their leaders, I prefer to know countries by the names of their athletes. Sport offers another perspective. Here athletes compete with ferocity but respect for each other and the rules of the sport.”
Seven countries officially boycotted the ceremony, including Ukraine, whose athletes instead took part in a telecast with the state broadcaster in Kyiv. Valeriy Shushkevych, the president of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, said his team could not attend an event he felt was acting as Russian propaganda. “The Russian flag is a flag with blood. It should not go up, it should go down,” he said, promising a committed performance from his athletes when they enter competition. “The spirit in our team is strong. I talk with my team every day and they are all concentrating on performing.
“But if I’m honest, I’m also nervous because before the Games start tomorrow, maybe ballistic missiles will be targeted at families in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv. An athlete might receive a call from their daughter to say: ‘I am afraid.’ I am also afraid in this moment. But in this moment, these athletes must concentrate on putting all their will into victory for Ukraine.”
A focus on the actual Games will be of great relief to many, not least the athletes, with competition getting properly under way early on Saturday morning. Attention will be firmly on alpine skiing where the visually impaired athletes will take to the slopes, led by Austria’s incredible Aigner family. Veronika Aigner will hope to repeat her double gold medal success in Beijing four years ago by defeating the challenge of Britain’s most successful Winter Paralympian, Menna Fitzpatrick, in the women’s downhill VI race.
In the men’s category, Veronika’s brother, Johannes, will race against the home favourite, Giacomo Bertagnolli, who competes in all five alpine events, and Britain’s Neil Simpson, who won gold in the super-G four years ago.
Already under way, meanwhile, is the mixed doubles curling competition, a new addition to these games. After losing the first two matches of the round robin group, Great Britain bounced back with victory first over Latvia, then the US as Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean try to claim one of four semi-final spots from the eight-team group. “I love playing with Jo, it is a perfect partnership on the ice for me and there’s that ownership we share as well,” said Kean. “You own a great shot, you own a mistake, and that helps massively in the team bonding. We are not in it to blame each other.”
