A view of the arena in Verona, Italy, where the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics will take place on March 6. The Paralympic Games are being overshadowed by military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Luca Bruno/AP
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Luca Bruno/AP
MILAN – Airstrikes by Israel and the United States against Iran and counterstrikes launched by Iran against neighboring countries have violated a symbolic Olympic ceasefire, approved by the United Nations, which urged nations to suspend all military activities until March 15.
The fight continued on Sunday as more than 660 elite athletes with disabilities from around the world, including Iran, Israel and the US, gathered in Italy for the Winter Paralympic Games.
At least one athlete’s family is stranded in Doha, Qatar, after the collision disrupted air traffic.
“He got on his flight from Doha to Venice and the plane flipped,” Michael Milton, a Paralympic alpine skier from Canberra, Australia, told NPR. Milton said his wife and two teenage children spent 24 hours at the airport before being offered a hotel room. “He would love to get out of Doha and go to Italy, but there is no timeline on that.”
Asked if he feared for their well-being, Milton said he hoped to continue to prove that Doha’s air defense systems were effective. “It’s obviously not a good area to be in. I wish they weren’t there, but I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about their safety at this point,” he said.
The tradition of Olympic battles dates back to the ninth century BC, when Greek rulers suspended certain conflicts so athletes could compete in the sacred games. As bitter conflicts in the Balkans flared in the early 1990s, the concept was revived by Olympic officials and the United Nations.
But despite the cease-fire, military clashes continue frequently. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 just as the Winter Paralympic Games began in Beijing.
Iran and Israel have qualified one athlete each to compete in the 2026 Paralympic Games. Abolfazal Khatibi of Iran, a 23-year-old para-cross-country skier. Israel’s 24-year-old Sheena Waspi is also expected to compete in the para-alpine ski events.
NPR asked the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for information about the two athletes and their condition, but did not receive an immediate response.
The Milan Cortina Paralympic Games were already overshadowed by diplomatic tensions, after IPC officials allowed athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete under their national flags, despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The full inclusion of Belarus and Russia marks a significant break from Olympic and Paralympic policy from 2022, which allowed a limited number of athletes from those countries to compete independently.
The change to the Paralympic Games has led to protests from at least six countries, which have announced they will boycott the opening ceremonies scheduled for March 6 in Verona, Italy.
