Criticism of Ukraine after the Paralympics: A disappointment

"Yes, I think there was an attempt to constantly take the focus away from the sport," Parsons says, calling it "disappointing."

During the games in Italy, Ukraine has chosen to boycott both the opening ceremony and Sunday evening's closing ceremony. This is in protest of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete under their own national flags at the Paralympics.

"I really hope that this is a lesson also for the national Paralympic committees that have chosen to focus more on the political side than on the sporting side, because sport has won," Parsons says.

Russia won twelve medals at the Paralympics. Belarus won two.