All Russian athletes banned from Paralympics: 'Their thirst for glory at all costs has damaged all sports'

Rio 2016
(Image credit: Carl de Souza/Getty Images)

The entire Russian Paralympic team has been suspended from competition by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) because of doping allegations.

"The facts really do hurt," said IPC President Sir Philip Craven on Sunday. "The system is Russia is broken, corrupted, and entirely compromised. Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me. The Russian government has failed its athletes. It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes. Their thirst for glory at all costs has damaged all sports."

"The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction," Craven added. "It's a decision we've had to take in the best interests of the Paralympic movement."

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Rumors that such a ban was coming began swirling Saturday, but the IPC insisted those reports were "pure speculation" until the official announcement was made. A number of Olympic athletes from the Russian delegation have already been banned from participation at Rio, though those decisions have been made on a case-by-case basis.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.