EXPLAINER: Paralympic U-turn on Russians may see more twists

BEIJING (AP) — The Paralympic U-turn on Russian participation in the upcoming Beijing Games isn’t likely to be the end of the story. The Winter Paralympics are scheduled to open on Friday without Russian and Belarusian athletes. The competitors from those countries were expelled from the event because of their governments’ role in the invasion of Ukraine. The decision to bar them came a day after the International Paralympic Committee had originally decided to allow them to compete as “neutral athletes” with no colors, flags or anthems. The sudden reversal followed an uproar in Beijing after athletes and teams from other countries threatened to pull out if Russians and Belarusians competed.