Scandal at Paralympics: Ukrainian athlete’s family denied arena entry over national flag
Photo: Taras Rad (Photo: facebook.com/taras.rad)
The family of Ukrainian biathlete Taras Rad was not allowed into the Paralympics because of the Ukrainian flag. His mother was told to remove it, equating it with Russian and Belarusian symbols, according to an interview with the athlete’s mother by Equalympic, a statement from the National Paralympic Committee, and a post by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
“After arriving at the stadium, we were very disappointed, because at the entrance we were told to leave all our national symbols: these beautiful scarves that symbolize our resilience and strength, and these flags. We were forbidden to take them to the stands to support our athletes,” the athlete’s mother said.
She noted that at the entrance, she was asked to place everything in boxes without being told on what basis the decision had been made.
''They simply said: ‘Ukraine, Russia and Belarus — no symbols,'' the woman said.
Such negativity has never happened at the Games before
In a statement, the National Paralympic Committee emphasized that the Ukrainian team, its athletes, and coaches are facing systematic pressure from representatives of the International Paralympic Committee and the Games’ Organizing Committee.
“Never before have our team and the leadership of the team headquarters experienced such openly negative manifestations and even obstacles toward Ukrainians as representatives of the national Paralympic committee, which is one of the leaders in the development of the Paralympic movement and in results in Paralympic sports,” the statement said.
It is emphasized that recent events have shown that these manifestations are systematic and are taking on a “critical and shameful nature” toward both the team and its members.
Reaction of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Sports
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Minister of Youth and Sports Matvii Bidnyi issued a joint statement regarding what they called unacceptable discrimination against Ukraine at the 2026 Paralympic Games.
In particular, it concerns statements about discriminatory, disrespectful, and unacceptable treatment of the Ukrainian national team and Ukrainian fans at the Games.
“The International Paralympic Committee not only allowed blood-stained Russian and Belarusian flags, but tries to ban Ukrainian flags and even yellow and blue colours,” the statement said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Sports condemned what they described as the IPC’s complete disregard for Ukraine and Ukrainian athletes.
“The Committee’s choice to openly side with Russia in its genocidal war against Ukraine is immoral and runs against all principles of the Olympian movement and norms of humanity. Future generations will call their actions by their name: disgrace,” the statement said.
What is known about Taras Rad
The 26-year-old is a para-biathlete and cross-country skier. He was born in the Ternopil region.
He has been involved in sports since childhood. At the age of 14, after an injury and infection, his leg was amputated below the knee. Despite this, the athlete returned to sports and later became one of the leaders of Ukraine’s Paralympic team.
Rad is the champion of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang (biathlon, 12.5 km sitting). At that time, at 18 years old, he was the youngest athlete of the Ukrainian team at the Games.
At the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing, he won three medals — two silver and one bronze. He is also a multiple medalist of the world and Ukrainian championships.
Earlier, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, said that Russians who fought against Ukraine would be able to take part in future Paralympic Games.
