Russian athletes will march under their own flag at the Paralympics. Australia isn’t joining the protests

Germany is the latest country to announce it will not participate in the parade of nations during the Paralympic Games opening ceremony. SportMilano Cortina Paralympics 2026Russian athletes will march under their own flag at the Paralympics. Australia isn’t joining the protestsBy Frances Howe March 5, 2026 — 9.15amSaveLog in, register or subscribe to save articles for later.Save articles for laterAdd articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.Got itNormal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementAustralia will not join an increasing number of countries boycotting the Winter Paralympic Games opening ceremony in Verona on Friday (Friday night, AEDT) in protest at Russian and Belarussian athletes’ inclusion in the Games, Paralympics Australia has confirmed.For the first time in more than a decade, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at a Paralympic Games under their own flag. In 2016, the International Paralympic Committee banned Russian athletes from participating in the Games due to state-sponsored doping.Athletes from Ukraine arrive at the opening ceremony at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.Credit: APIn 2018, athletes from Russia were allowed to compete as neutral athletes before a separate ban was announced in 2022 on athletes from both Russia and its ally Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine.In September, the committee voted to lift the bans on both countries, allowing them to return to competition under their flags – and should any of their athletes win a gold medal, their respective national anthems will play. Six athletes from Russia and four from Belarus will compete in the upcoming Games in Milan and Cortina.In response, Ukraine announced it would not send athletes or officials to the opening ceremony on Friday. They will be joined in some capacity – either by boycotting the parade of nations or refusing to send officials to the ceremony – by Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Finland.LoadingA spokesperson from Paralympics Australia confirmed that Australian athletes will participate in the opening ceremony and parade of nations as planned, although some will miss the event due to competing the following day.“Australia will be represented at the Opening Ceremony, but our team will have a reduced presence in attendance due to performance reasons,” a statement said.Australia was also not part of the mass boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.AdvertisementGreat Britain and Canada will not attend the ceremony because their athletes will be competing in alpine skiing in Cortina on Saturday. Other countries’ delegates – including France and Italy – have condemned the decision to allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete but will still participate in the ceremony.The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations posted an “urgent call” on Facebook asking its supporters to petition Paralympics Australia to boycott the opening ceremony and publicly oppose the inclusion of Russian and Belarussian athletes.The opening ceremony arena in Verona.Credit: APGermany is the most recent country to announce it would be boycotting the ceremony, with its national Paralympic committee issuing the following statement: “The German Disabled Sports Association strongly criticises the decision of the International Paralympic Committee to grant athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcards to participate in the Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina ... Against this backdrop, we have jointly decided that Team Germany Paralympics will not participate in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony in Verona.“This decision serves both to focus on the upcoming competitions and to respectfully express solidarity with the Ukrainian delegation.”The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) expects more than 600 athletes to compete at the Games from 56 countries, including one athlete from Iran.The Winter Paralympic Games is broadcast on the Nine Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.SaveLog in, register or subscribe to save articles for later.License this articleMilano Cortina Paralympics 2026Paralympic GamesMilano Cortina 2026Australians in sportFrances Howe is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.Most Viewed in SportLoadingFrom our partnersLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentLoading 3rd party ad contentAdvertisement