Russia opens Paralympic routes towards LA28

Several international federations that run official competitions in team disciplines are allowing the Eurasian giant's sides to compete abroad, Russian Paralympic Committee President Pavel Rozhkov said on Wednesday during a forum held in Moscow.

Rozhkov linked that opening to the attempt to rebuild Russia's international presence in Paralympic sport, especially in team disciplines, where participation depends not only on individual authorisations but also on national teams being able to enter official competitions and qualifying pathways.

In remarks reported by the TASS news agency during a round table at the 'National Health - Prosperity of Russia' forum, Rozhkov said that process had already begun, although still under limited conditions. "The progress is underway. The federations that supervise [Paralympic] team competitions have begun to allow our teams to participate in their official international competitions. Without a flag, without an anthem, but such a trend is underway," he said.

The reference to competing without a flag or anthem places the development within the restrictions stemming from the sanctions imposed on Russian sport after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where the war continues. In the Paralympic sphere, the International Paralympic Committee partially suspended the RPC in September 2023 after finding that it was not meeting the obligations required of its members, a measure that limited its rights within the IPC and restricted the presence of its athletes to individual participation under neutral status, without teams. In September 2025, the IPC General Assembly voted not to maintain that suspension, restoring the Russian body's rights within the Paralympic movement, although it did not automatically remove the conditions set by each international federation.

That distinction explains why institutional readmission does not amount to full reinstatement in every sport. Russia was already represented at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games, but actual participation in each discipline continues to depend on the regulations, qualifying windows and neutrality arrangements applied by the bodies responsible for each competition.

Rozhkov acknowledged that this framework makes the route to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games especially complex. According to TASS, the president of the RPC explained that his organisation is reviewing the entry requirements for the US event because in several disciplines it is not enough simply to be authorised to compete; athletes must also pass through preliminary qualifying stages. "We are carefully studying the requirements and regulations for admission to the [2028 Summer] Paralympic Games, because in a number of sports there are qualifying groups and in order to get to the Paralympic Games, you need to go through all of them," he said.

Rozhkov cited sledge hockey, a sport on the winter programme that falls directly under the IPC, as an example of a route in which Russia does see qualifying options. "Sledge hockey is under the auspices of the International Paralympic Committee, they made a decision last year that our athletes will participate, they have a chance to qualify," said Rozhkov.

The situation need not be the same on the summer programme, where some disciplines may offer Russian representatives less room if access processes have already been defined or if federations maintain more restrictive conditions. "However, there may not be such opportunities for a number of sports in the summer programme," the president of the RPC warned.

Despite those difficulties, Rozhkov described the situation cautiously and said the Russian delegation could increase its international presence wherever the rules allow. "Our athletes will be participating in all competitions whenever it is possible. This is already a certain optimism - the [Russian national] team will be larger [in its representation]," he said.