Russia's team will be suspended from the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, but individual athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag, the International Paralympics Committee said Monday. The agreement is similar to that put in place to allow able-bodied Russian competitors to take part in next month's Winter Olympics that precede the Paralympics. It said that two key criteria to end the wider suspension were still outstanding -- the full reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) by WADA, and an official response adequately addressing the McLaren findings. "This made it impossible to determine which Russian Para athletes were clean and which were not; it was clear that Russia's participation in Para sport events would severely question the integrity and credibility of sporting competition." Russian Para athletes were now regularly tested and "amongst the most scrutinised Para athletes in the world," he said.

Source: dna January 29, 2018 11:48 UTC