France backs return of intellectually disabled athletes to Winter Paralympics

LANS-EN-VERCORS, France — On a well-groomed, snow-covered slope in the Montagnes de Lans ski area near the French city of Grenoble, a group of Alpine skiers take aggressive lines through the gates. Their trajectories are precise, the tempo is fast and the technique polished.

Among this competition squad are world champions — some with multiple medals to their names.

Yet none will line up in the starting gates at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games, where more than 650 athletes will compete in 79 medal events from March 6.

The reason? They have cognitive disabilities and are not eligible to compete.

"The Paralympics is a dream, like for any other high-level competitor," Mélanie De Bona said after completing her slalom session. "I train and make a gigantic amount of sacrifices for that."

De Bona, who turns 30 later this month, is a 13-time world champion across multiple disciplines. She suffers from severe dysphasia, a condition that has affected her language and learning processing.

Training on the same slope, Antoine Maure has autistic disorders that nobody can notice when he skis — the 31-year-old is a two-time world champion in combined and slalom.

Like any elite athletes, De Bona and Maure train tirelessly. Maure's physical preparation includes cycling, running and strength training. Ahead of each season, he works in the gym to optimize his conditioning and fully commit to his two passions — "speed on snow and competition," he told The Associated Press.

Yet they remain unwelcome at winter sport's showcase event.

"The Games are a goal for any athlete. So why not them?" asks Jérémie Barnier, the coach who supervised their training session that morning, providing his skiers with sound advice and encouragement between each run.

"They deserve this visibility and this recognition," he said.

Intellectually impaired athletes have been sidelined from the Winter Paralympics for more than two decades following a major cheating scandal. Their exclusion is seen as a major injustice by French officials, who are now pushing to ensure France becomes the nation that welcomes them back when the country hosts the 2030 Games in the Alps. The push is supported by the French government and Parliament.

Sydney scandal

Athletes with intellectual disabilities last competed at the Winter Games in 1998, in Nagano. The story behind their absence traces back to the 2000 Paralympics.

In Sydney, Spain's gold medal-winning basketball team in the intellectually disabled category included players later found not to have disabilities. Only two of 12 team members met eligibility requirements.

The revelation led to medal forfeitures, and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also suspended the International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS), now known as Virtus, in 2001.

The ban remained until a reliable classification system was put in place. In 2009, the IPC voted to readmit athletes with intellectual disabilities into sanctioned competitions.

Following proposals from the international federations of para athletics, para swimming and para table tennis, 14 medal events for athletes with intellectual disabilities were approved for inclusion in the London 2012 Summer Paralympics.

French savoir-faire

With France set to host the 2030 Games, athletes, federation leaders and elected officials are calling for the opening of Alpine and Nordic para skiing to competitors with intellectual disabilities to make the Paralympics truly inclusive.

They claim there are no major obstacles, saying that regulations, classifications, venues and infrastructure are ready.

"Athletes are excluded for the Games and that makes them sad." said Sandrine Chaix, the delegate for disability in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the French region which will host the 2030 events. "They are high-level athletes, but nobody speaks about them."

Chaix says France has the expertise required for a smooth return. The country hosted several major events showcasing athletes with cognitive disabilities — including the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, which brought together more than 1,000 competitors.

France also organized the Virtus world Nordic and Alpine skiing last year.

According to Chaix, a return to the Paralympics would help fight stigma in wider society and inspire young people.

"When a young autistic person sees an autistic athlete on TV winning a medal, it's incredibly inspiring," she said. "Even just a bronze medal can be a huge breakthrough for inclusion."

Back in 2030?

At the Milan Cortina Paralympics, athletes will compete in six sports — para Alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

As French officials argue that all conditions for the return of athletes with a learning disability are already in place, the IPC told the AP it can consider a medal event for inclusion only if proposed by an international federation with a sport on the program.

For each Paralympic Games, summer or winter, medal events are determined based on proposals from international federations. Since 2009, however, the IPC says that no international federation has proposed medal events for athletes with cognitive disabilities in the Paralympic Winter Games.

"Should international federations propose medal events for athletes with intellectual impairments for the Paralympic Winter Games, then they will certainly be considered and assessed on their merits," the IPC said.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) told the AP it is supporting the process of including athletes with intellectual impairments "potentially as early as 2030."

It said a crucial condition is ensuring that they can compete safely and at an adequate performance level on existing para-Alpine and para-Nordic courses.

"Once classification has been finalized and approved by the IPC, and provided that the performance level of the athletes concerned allows safe participation on Paralympic courses, FIS will submit a detailed report and a recommendation to Virtus and the IPC regarding the next steps," it said.

De Bona is hopeful.

"What keeps me holding on is 2030," she said.