How to ensure fairness among athletes?

Many people ask themselves, without daring to say it, this disturbing question: are the Paralympic events completely fair? Does a swimmer without both legs, for example, have the same chances as a one-legged competitor? Aware of the problem, the International Paralympic Committee has set precise rules since the first edition of the Paralympic Games in 1960. Athletes are qualified according to their past performances and rankings, then listed according to their level of disability in official categories, supposed to guarantee a comparable level of ability between participants. Thus, in the discipline of athletics, a person with a mild visual impairment will compete in the T13 category (T for track – “track” in French), while another, more visually impaired, will find herself in the T11 category.

Classification put to the test

Does this system ensure equal opportunities? Denis Charreyre, athletics development manager at the French Paralympic Federation (FFH), points out that “since each disability is unique, we cannot multiply the categories indefinitely. Certain differentials persist, that’s part of the game.” There are already 16 50-meter freestyle finals scheduled on the official calendar for these 2024 Paralympics. At the Rio (Brazil) Games in 2016, there were 30 100-meter finals. The doctors who examine the athletes ahead of the Games are aware of their responsibility: “The goal is that it is not the severity of the disability that determines the winner, but the athlete’s technical skills,” emphasizes Orianne Lopez, a former Paralympic athlete and coordinating physician at the French Paralympic and Sports Committee.

These precautions do not prevent attempts at fraud. In 2000, in Sydney (Australia), the Spanish men’s basketball team was caught out for having fielded ten able-bodied players in the mentally deficient category. Pierrick Giraudeau, coordinator of the athletes’ life office for the FFH, considers the current methods to be “solid”: “The system has improved, doctors are better trained. The feeling of unfair treatment, sometimes present before, has largely diminished.” A development that goes hand in hand with the increasing visibility and professionalization of the Paralympic disciplines.