Afghan Paralympians' well-being is top priority, no media access during Games - IPC
Record ID:
1634031
Afghan Paralympians' well-being is top priority, no media access during Games - IPC
- Title: Afghan Paralympians' well-being is top priority, no media access during Games - IPC
- Date: 29th August 2021
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 29, 2021) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, CRAIG SPENCE (LEFT), AND TOKYO 2020 SPOKESPERSON, MASA TAKAYA (RIGHT), SEATED FOR NEWS CONFERENCE NEWS CONFERENCE SET TO BEGIN SOUNDBITE (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, CRAIG SPENCE, SAYING: "As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional, there were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It was remarkable, it really was a remarkable meeting. Having seen images of the athletes being evacuated on a plane on Monday, to see them in person in front of us, safe and well in the Paralympic Village, is something I don't think we'll ever forget." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS SOUNDBITE (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, CRAIG SPENCE, SAYING: "Human life is the most important thing here. Having the athletes here isn't about getting media coverage. This is about these athletes fulfilling their dream of being able to attend the Paralympic Games. And because human life is the most important thing, and the well-being and mental health of the athletes is our top priority, the athletes will be doing no media during these Games." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS SOUNDBITE (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, CRAIG SPENCE, SAYING: "Having spoken to them last night (about whether the athletes want to speak to media during the Games) the answer is no, and we need to respect their wishes, because the priority here is creating the best platform for them to be able to compete. So that's the simple answer." TOKYO 2020 PARALYMPIC GAMES LOGO SOUNDBITE (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (IPC) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, CRAIG SPENCE, SAYING: "Clearly, we don't want a selfie fest to begin in the village, of athletes running up to them and taking pictures. We have, we spoke to the athletes last night and said, look, you will have a lot of attention here. But I think fellow athletes will respect them and respect the fact of the week they've gone through. And therefore, we're not saying you should just stay in your apartments and not go out, what we're saying is once you've gone through your three days of quarantine effectively, you need to fulfil this experience of being in the athlete's village. This is why you've come here, to get the experience of a Paralympic Games. So, there's no restrictions on really what their movements will be in the village once they've done their three days." NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING
- Embargoed: 12th September 2021 07:35
- Keywords: Afghanistan Paralympics Tokyo 2020
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001ESBZIO7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Sunday (August 29) that the well-being and mental health of two newly arrived Afghan athletes were the IPC's top priority and so the two athletes would not be speaking to media during the Games.
Zakai Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrived in Tokyo on Saturday (August 28) after being evacuated from the Afghan capital Kabul a week ago.
"As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional, there were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It was remarkable, it really was a remarkable meeting," said the IPC's chief communications officer, Craig Spence.
Tawkwondo athlete Khudadadi had made a video appeal for help to leave Kabul, after the pair were unable to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban swept to power.
(Production: Chris Gallagher) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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