Athletes with Down syndrome fight for inclusion at the Paralympics
Despite it being one of the world's most common intellectual disabilities, athletes with Down syndrome are still fighting to be included in the Paralympic Games.
Down Syndrome Swimming Australia (DSSA) is one group speaking out about its frustration. DSSA Chairman Simon Cox told Mashable Australia its swimmers are routinely unable to compete in the Games because no category suits their particular characteristics.
Paralympic athletes are classified "based on their impairment," according to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). There are 10 categories outlining different characteristics athletes with disabilities may have, including "impaired muscle power" and "visual impairment."
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Typically, swimmers with Down syndrome are eligible for inclusion in the S14 category for athletes with an intellectual disability. According to Cox, that doesn't truly fit people with Down syndrome due to their unique combination of intellectual and physical disability.
In other words, the limitations of S14 mean swimmers with Down syndrome are routinely excluded from competing because they cannot hope to match the speed of someone who has an intellectual disability "but who is also 6'2."
The DSSA are committed to lobbying the IPC to change its rules and allow its swimmers to compete on an equal footing. "It's about saying, let's take a sensible look at the cohort of people who have an impairment around the world, and recognise some of them have physical impairments as well," Cox said.
The IPC has so far been unwilling to create a new category. "There is not a specific classification in swimming for athletes with Down syndrome, in the same way there is not a dedicated class for people with cerebral palsy or leg amputations," it told ABC News.
Cox said he could not understand the IPC's reluctance, especially when additional sports are announced seemingly every four years. "There are multiple vision categories, as there should be," he pointed out. "They don't fall neatly into either category and given [Down syndrome is] the most common chromosomal defect in the world ... we really don't understand why."
"Although it is difficult to accept sometimes, our children do face physical challenges which, although they vary greatly from individual to individual, are always there."
What's worse, he doesn't know of any person with Down syndrome on the Australian Paralympic team. "They'll never qualify in any sport, including athletics," he added.
The fight over Down syndrome inclusion has been ongoing for many years. In 2012 after the London Games, Swimming World Magazine received a letter from the disappointed parent of a swimmer with Down syndrome. In the opinion of Jackie Birchmore, the S14 categorisation meant swimmers with intellectual disabilities but no physical issues had a clear advantage.
"Although it is difficult to accept sometimes, our children do face physical challenges which, although they vary greatly from individual to individual, are always there," she wrote.
"Surely the absence of any serious representation at these games from a disability group which is active in sport should empirically demonstrate that something is wrong with the classification process."
Athletes with intellectual disabilities were first allowed to compete at the Paralympics in 1996. They were excluded after the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, however, when a journalist exposed 10 gold-winning Spanish basketball players for faking their disabilities. Athletes with intellectual disabilities were only allowed to compete again in 2012, after undergoing eligibility checks.
The Australian Paralympic Committee has been approached by Mashable for comment.
Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
