The Iranian athlete does not arrive, flag removed from the opening ceremony in Verona

Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, Paralympian from PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, was supposed to compete in two events: the men's standing classic sprint on March 10, and the men's standing 10 km interval classic on March 11. However, he never arrived in Predazzo, where the Paralympic cross-country skiing events are scheduled to take place. "With the communication systems disrupted in much of Iran, dialogue with the Npc Iran and the national skiing federation has not been easy - adds Parsons -. We were informed by Npc Iran that it was not possible to reach Milano Cortina 2026 safely and, consequently, they would not be able to participate in the Games." Following Iran's withdrawal, as reported by Ansa, the national flag was removed from the athletes' parade for the opening ceremony tonight at the Arena di Verona.