Paralympics

Tim Hollingsworth giving evidence to the committee

November 2, 2017 0

Paralympic classification scandal: MPs criticise BPA boss for six years of inaction

The head of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) has been heavily criticised by MPs for failing to address cheating within the system that classifies disabled athletes, despite being in his post for more than six years. Tim Hollingsworth was giving evidence to the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, as part of its

Arts, Culture and Sport

Bethany Woodward, smiling, wearing athletics kit and holding an England flag behind her head

November 2, 2017 0

Paralympic classification scandal: MPs hear athletes’ concerns over flawed system

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Disabled athletes and their families have given evidence to MPs about widespread cheating within the Paralympic classification system. The committee has been told of one swimmer whose father bought her a wheelchair on eBay to try to mislead the officials who would be classifying her – in a bid to compete against slower swimmers

Arts, Culture and Sport

A teenager examines his new running blade, watched by a woman in a white uniform

January 12, 2017

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Children begin to receive prostheses that will help them run, swim… or play the violin

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Hundreds of disabled children in England are starting to benefit from a new fund that will provide them with the specialist prosthetic limbs they need to take part in sports and other activities that were previously inaccessible to them. The Department of Health (DH) has provided £750,000 to fund running blades and other activity

Arts, Culture and Sport

September 1, 2016

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Countdown to Rio: Cockroft pushes harder and further than ever in bid for gold

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Hannah Cockroft admits she has loved every minute of the celebrity lifestyle that has come in the wake of her two track gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympics. She’s been seen at awards ceremonies, taken part in fashion shoots, and appeared on television programmes such as Countryfile, Celebrity Mastermind and 8 out of

Arts, Culture and Sport

Jonnie Peacock running towards the camera on a track

September 1, 2016

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Countdown to Rio: Peacock ready to defend his crown

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He was one of the biggest British names at the London 2012 Paralympics. There were wheelchair-racers Hannah Cockroft and David Weir, swimmer Ellie Simmonds… and T44 sprinter Jonnie Peacock. Peacock’s T44 final in London was one of the sporting highlights of the 2012 games, pitting him against the USA’s Richard Browne and the Blade

Arts, Culture and Sport

Nigel Murray throwing a boccia ball from his wheelchair

August 31, 2016

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COMMENT: How to support our Paralympians, from a disability rights perspective

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We’re just a week away now from the start of the Rio Paralympics, an event that for disabled people – depending on their viewpoint – is somewhere between a glorious celebration of sporting endeavour and a loathsome festival of ‘inspiration porn’. Chief among the fears of those whose views are found at the bottom end

Arts, Culture and Sport

Matt Skelhon in his wheelchair, holding a gun

August 25, 2016

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Countdown to Rio: Skelhon ready to medal after winning battle with motivation

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Matt Skelhon admits that he has struggled with his motivation in the lead-up to his third Paralympic games. Having competed in Beijing – where he won shooting gold – and in London, where he won silver and bronze, and becoming world champion in 2014 with a new world record, he confesses that there was

Arts, Culture and Sport

Sir Philip Craven speaking into a microphone

August 18, 2016

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‘Shocking’ Rio funding crisis could see 50 countries forced to withdraw

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Paralympians have spoken of their shock at learning that 50 of the poorest nations could have to withdraw from next month’s Paralympic Games in Rio because of financial problems facing Brazil’s organising committee. Thousands of athletes from countries that were relying on travel grants from the Rio 2016 organising committee may not now be

Arts, Culture and Sport

August 18, 2016

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Countdown to Rio: Nicholls looks for a ‘crowning’ achievement

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She joined Hannah Cockroft on her lap of honour after finishing seventh behind Britain’s double gold medallist in the T34 200 metres in London 2012. But four years on, Mel Nicholls believes she has a real chance of causing an upset and beating Cockroft in one of her three events in next month’s Rio

Activism and Campaigning

A protester holds up a banner saying Disabled People Against Cuts, Rights Not Charity

August 11, 2016

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DPAC will use Paralympics to highlight austerity impact in week of action

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Disabled activists are to hold a week of action to coincide with the start of the Rio 2016 Paralympics, in a bid to highlight the impact of austerity-driven cuts on disability rights. Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) hopes to use the publicity generated by the Rio Paralympics to draw attention to the “disproportionate impact

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