Paula Dunn: Russia ban an opportunity for British Paralympic athletes in Rio

Russia’s absence from the 2016 Paralympics should be viewed as an opportunity for British athletes to bolster what they hope will end up being a record-breaking number of medals in Rio, according to head coach Paula Dunn.

The entirety of the Russian team was expelled from the Games last month by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) McClaren report in July identified 35 positive samples from Russian Paralympic sport which had “disappeared” as part of a state-sponsored doping programme.

The number rose to 45 in August after the IPC was provided with 10 additional positive samples, 27 of which are reported to have been from sports in the Paralympics.

Russia is traditionally a powerhouse of international para-athletics, having topped this year’s IPC European Athletics Championships medal table with 131 medals – more than double that of Great Britain’s 56 in second place – and finished second to China at both the 2012 Paralympics in London and the World Championships in Doha last year.

Dunn, who took over as the head coach of the British Athletics Paralympic programme after Peter Eriksson following the London Games, says British athletes should seize the opportunity presented to them now that Russia’s top athletes won’t be in Rio.

When asked if Russia’s blanket ban should be seen as an opening, Dunn said: “Absolutely. The IPC made a decision and we have to support the decision they made.

“For us it does open up the opportunity for some of those …

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