Article content continued

Part of the funding in question includes grants that were slated to go to athletes to aid in their traveling to Rio. Several countries’ teams now worry whether they’ll be able to attend.

“It wouldn’t be fair to an athlete to miss the games because the funds didn’t come in time for them to purchase a plane ticket to get to Rio,” Martin Richard, chief of communications for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, told Canada’s Global News earlier this week.

The second major concern has been lacklustre ticket sales. As of Wednesday, only 12 per cent of the tickets to the Paralympic Games had been sold, organizers said.

The IPC did not go into the exact ways in which the budget cuts will affect the Games, but according to BBC reporter Dan Roan, Deodoro Stadium will not remain open after the Olympics end on Sunday. The stadium housed the Olympic rugby competition, as well as several equestrian events.

Despite the cuts, Craven attempted to stay positive on Friday about the upcoming Games – focusing much of his statement on the athletes instead of the budget.

“I am fully confident Rio 2016 will be the best Games ever in terms of athletic performance. You only have to look at some of the achievements from Para athletes over the last two years to realize that we will witness some truly spectacular sport,” he said. “I believe the performances of the Para athletes will act a a catalyst for social change.”

He continued: “It’s in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently and that’s what we are doing here. We are problem solvers by nature and fight for what we believe in.”