Paralympics reverses decision, denies Russia and Belarus access to games

Paralympics reverses decision, denies Russia and Belarus access to games

Transcript¹

On the eve of the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, officials reversed course and will now deny access to athletes from Russia and Belarus.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The International Paralympic Committee reversed course today and will now ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from the Paralympic Games, which start tomorrow in Beijing. Eighty-three athletes with disabilities are affected². Now, this comes as a growing number of sports organizations have closed their doors to athletes and officials from the two countries. NPR's Brian Mann is just back from covering the Olympics in Beijing. Brian, the Paralympics Committee just yesterday said yes to athletes from Russia and Belarus. Now today, it's a no. So why this sudden change?

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE³: Yeah, the IPC said it wanted to be above politics, above international conflict, but the pressure just kept growing, including from disabled athletes. Here's four-time Paralympic weightlifter Ali Jawad from Great Britain, who said allowing Russians to compete would effectively be a propaganda boon⁴ to Vladimir Putin.

ALI JAWAD: These athletes will be rewarded when they go back to their countries and considered heroes. And the Russians - they will use that to further their agenda.

MANN: And a growing number of countries, A, signaled similarly strong objections, saying they would withdraw their athletes from Beijing if Russia and Belarus were there. So the IPC changed course. In a statement, the head of IPC, Andrew Parsons, said war has now come to these games. As you mentioned, 83 disabled athletes from Russia and Belarus will now be banned from competing. That's according to the IPC.

MARTINEZ: And something else that's troubling from that statement - Parsons also referenced security and safety for athletes inside the Olympic Village in Beijing. What do we know about that?

MANN: Yeah, this is fascinating. Parsons said - and I want to quote him here - "the safety and security of athletes is of paramount⁵ importance to us, and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating⁶ and has now become untenable" - his words there. Parsons also talked about the health risks for athletes. We don't know of any particular incidents or threats, but we have been hearing that there were plans for protests in Beijing among athletes from around the world outraged⁷ by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So this was clearly a volatile⁸ situation.

MARTINEZ: Yeah, sounds like it. So remind us of the bigger picture here. How is the international sports community broadly responding to Russia launching this war?

MANN: Yeah, this has been sweeping⁹ and dramatic - a kind of isolation¹⁰ that mirrors the economic and cultural sanctions we've been seeing. The International Olympic Committee, which has long and deep ties to Russian officials, took the unprecedented¹¹ step of urging sports groups to ban any involvement by Russian athletes and officials and also to pull sport events out of Russia that were previously¹² scheduled. The world's two major soccer leagues, including FIFA, have banned Russian clubs, knocking them effectively out of the World Cup. So even sports leagues that have a lot to lose here - money and sponsorships and their postures¹³ of neutrality - they are backing away from Russia fast. And important to note, I think, just how important sport is to Russia - to its national identity, its sense of being a player on the world stage.

MARTINEZ: Yeah. Now, a very remarkable¹⁴ shift with Russia really a pariah¹⁵ here, but wasn't the country's sports industry under a cloud of scandal even before this?

MANN: Yeah. And I think this context is one of the reasons that this is so dramatic. There's been evidence for years that Russian teams and coaches and doctors engaged in systematic¹⁶ doping - you know, using banned substances to cheat and gain an advantage. This resurfaced again last month in Beijing when it was revealed that one of Russia's star skaters - figure skaters - Kamila Valieva, had tested positive for a banned drug. But Russia was so important, such a big player, that leagues just kept allowing their athletes to compete, giving them more and more chances. That has come to a crashing halt now with the invasion of Ukraine. Russian athletes, including superstars like Valieva, are now on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Brian Mann telling us about the decision to ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from the Paralympic Games, which begin tomorrow in Beijing. Brian, thanks.

MANN: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

5 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

6 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

7 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

10 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 postures   

姿势( posture的名词复数 )； 看法； 态度； 立场

参考例句：

• Modern consciousness has this great need to explode its own postures. 现代意识很有这种摧毁本身姿态的需要。
• They instinctively gathered themselves into more tidy postures. 她们本能地恢复了端庄的姿态。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

16 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。