For years, Paralympians with tattoos of the Olympic rings were playing a dangerous game: They had to cover the tattoos completely in competition, or face penalties from the International Paralympic Committee, which included disqualification.

But ahead of the 2024 Paralympics, which start next week in Paris, the I.P.C. has suddenly, and without obvious explanation, reversed course, dropping the rule.

“Athletes with such tattoos do not need to cover them up,” Craig Spence, the chief brand and communications officer for the I.P.C., said in an email on Friday.

Mr. Spence declined to offer an explanation for the change in policy.

For Paralympians like Rudy Garcia-Tolson, however, the change is a welcome one, regardless of how the I.P.C. came to the decision.

“Paralympic athletes have enough to worry about,” said Mr. Garcia-Tolson, 35, a swimmer and five-time Paralympic medalist who had resorted, in recent years, to using a Sharpie to blot out the tattoo of the Olympic rings on his upper back. “Having a logo on our bodies that signifies our journey, our experience as athletes — it’s important to so many of us.”