What does NPA mean at the Paralympic Games and the rules that athletes are subject to

Aleksandr Khrupin during the shot put competition at the World Para Athletics Championships — NPA stars are subject to several restrictions (Image: Getty)

Some 4,440 Paralympic athletes from 184 nations have gathered in Paris for the 2024 edition of the games.

But for one group of athletes, they compete in the French capital under the banner of the NPA, which stands for Neutral Paralympic Athletes.

These are Russian and Belarusian athletes, who were allowed to participate despite their respective nations being banned from the Olympics and Paralympics due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Rules for NPA athletes at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

NPA athletes compete at the Paralympic Games in neutral uniforms that do not feature any reference to any national flag, colors, names or symbols.

Athletes participate under a white flag featuring black lettering indicating NPA, and the flag will be used on TV graphics and during medal ceremonies.

Russian and Belarusian flags, along with any symbols related to the two countries, are prohibited in any location associated with the event.

Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider at the Paris 2024 Olympics — Russian and Belarusian athletes also competed as neutrals at the Olympics (Image: Getty)

Medals won by NPA athletes will not be reflected in the official medal table, and if one of them wins gold, the Paralympic anthem will be played.

NPA participants were not included in the march from the opening ceremony and will not have a flag bearer at the closing ceremony on September 8.

Russia and Belarus were also banned from entering any team sport at the Paralympics.

Those competing under the NPA flag have been subject to background checks by the International Paralympic Committee to ensure they have not supported the war or had any military connections.

The same rules applied to Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Olympics, but several athletes, such as Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev, who won doubles gold at Tokyo 2020, declined the invitation.

One noticeable difference between the Olympics and Paralympics is that Russian and Belarusian stars are allowed to compete in athletics for the next week and a half, while their Olympic counterparts are barred from qualifying for track events.

Three times as many Russian and Belarusian athletes participate in the Paralympic Games as in the Olympics, with 88 from Russia and 8 from Belarus.

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