BBC documentary about unfair classification in Paralympic sport

[Angelica789]

On now.

Complaints that some athletes aren’t as disabled as they claim and the classification system is unfair. Apparently talking about discrepancies in classification is absolutely banned.

Interesting because there are obviously overlapping arguments here with transwomen in sport. How can a fair playing field in sport be ensured?

I do wonder how they do this. Someone like Katrina Webb for example has such mild cerebral palsy she didn't realise till her teens. She obviously does very well, but cp is so unique to the individual I doubt it could ever be truly 'fair'. Obviously they don't put moderate sufferers with mild, but even within the numbers classification there's such s range it would be difficult to balance.

One British athlete says he was reclassified in the run up to 2012 when the chase for gold medals was on. He was put into a lower ability category where he won his first race so easily it was embarrassing. He wasn’t happy to compete in that classification again but obviously plenty of athletes don’t have those scruples.

Hi Angelica, I was thinking the same. And interesting to hear from the runner who was wrongly classified by the authorities and realised that those he was running against were significantly more disabled than he was. leading to him winning a 400 m race by almost 100 meters. He realised it wasn't right, and that it wasn't a good feeling to win in those circumstances. That's the bit that I can't get about transwomen in female sport - do they feel good about their wins?

Ha, crossposted with just the same thing!

And very interesting about that Spanish basketball team which blatantly entered non-disabled men who were apparently feigning having a learning disability.

And very sad for the athletes who seemed to be "used" by those who just want their countries teams to get as many medals as possible, rather than doing what's best for the individual athlete and looking after them.

Very interesting parallel with the trans sport. Watching now.

And Millie who fits in nowhere. She’s not disabled enough for Paralympic sport but has a mild disability.

They gave one young woman the impression that she
was brilliant in a particular classification and pushed her to enter - when her classification was checked by international authorities, they found she should be in a less disabled classification. They realised she wouldn't get a medal in that category so just dropped her.

Watching now really good, sort of thing the bbc does well

I hadn't realised this before - the olympic committee now say
ll athletes entered must be considered potential gold medalists.

The Paralympics was started to celebrate the achievements of people in overcoming their disability, and to give disabled people something to aim for, to include them in sport and improve their wellbeing. Now there's so much focus on medals that the people it was originally intended for are feeling pushed out.

Interesting about people going to qualifying events deliberately in poor condition/poor fitness, so that they'll be classified in a lower category.

I'd heard before about some athletes allegedly having cold showers or dipping the affected limbs in ice in order to get put into a different classification.

They talk about paralympic athletes having surgery in order to fit into a classification category e.g. having an amputation/shaving length off a stump.

I imagine in the Olympics some countries very keen to maximise their gold medals could put pressure on male people to make themselves eligible for a female category.

As the man summarised, it has gone against the spirit of the original Paralympics, competing and enjoying being able to take part, rather than for the medals.

The thing is para athletes want to be taken seriously as athletes and of course that means wanting to win and celebrating winning. That’s what competitive sport at a high level is about. The idea that it’s just about having a reason to leave the house and joining in is patronising.

Grass roots para sport can still provide these things but at Paralympic level it’s different.

I remember at some point there was a controversy about people I think playing wheelchair basketball effectively "doping" by causing deliberate injuries on their paralysed limbs. I'll try and find a link.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19325756

The best comparator group for Paralympians is Olympians - they're there to win.

Some Paralympians are very open about trying to be categorised a level or two below the appropriate one and how much gaming goes on.

Now there's so much focus on medals that the people it was originally intended for are feeling pushed out

Yep. Just like allowing males in female sport. Kerrching.

There was a piece on the BBC website today about a transwoman paralympian!!

@headintheproverbial

This is she

www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-57338207

@StellaAndCrow

I hadn't realised this before - the olympic committee now say ll athletes entered must be considered potential gold medalists.

The Paralympics was started to celebrate the achievements of people in overcoming their disability, and to give disabled people something to aim for, to include them in sport and improve their wellbeing. Now there's so much focus on medals that the people it was originally intended for are feeling pushed out.

This isn't wildly different than what has happened in the Olympics generally. When the modern Olympics began, while competition was always important, the emphasis was very different than today.

Things started to go bad when the communist countries began to see winning as legitimising political ideology and the Americans responded in kind. And the nail in the coffin was when they allowed professionals to enter, though by that time it made little difference in many sports.

It's just a corrupt money grab now.

Things started to go bad when the communist countries began to see winning as legitimising political ideology and the Americans responded in kind.

Hitler was pretty keen to use the olympics to prove Aryan superiority. Didn't really work though.

@Tibtom

Things started to go bad when the communist countries began to see winning as legitimising political ideology and the Americans responded in kind.

Hitler was pretty keen to use the olympics to prove Aryan superiority. Didn't really work though.

Yes, that's true. His plan kind of went of the rails though, whereas the Soviet-American rivalry went on to shape the direction of the Olympics for many years.

I’m pretty sure there was a blind football team - who had sighted players.