Paralympic athlete stripped of medal for cheating with banned device during final

Controversy in the Games Paralympic Games. The Italian rower Giacomo Perini He finished third in the PR1 skiff final, but the organization stripped him of his bronze medal. A dramatic turn of events came after it was discovered that the athlete had cheated by using a prohibited device during the test.

After a brief investigation, authorities discovered that Perini had used a phone during the race, leading to the Italian rower’s disqualification.

The gold went to the British Benzoin Prichardwhile the money went to the Ukrainian Roman PolianskyThe bronze, after the sanction, went to the Australian. Eric Horrible. Perini was left without what would have been his first medal at the Games.

World Rowing spoke about the matter through a statement: “During the PR1 M1x final, it was discovered that the ITA PR1 MRX [Perini] “used communications equipment during the race, in breach of Rule 28 and Appendix R2 of Regulation 28. As a result, the crew has been excluded from the event and will be ranked last in the standings.”

After his disqualification, the Italian maintained his innocence, insisting he had not used his phone during the race and had simply forgotten to take it out before boarding his boat.

“The disqualification was due to an oversight: I didn’t realize it at all,” Perini told Italian media. RaiSPort. “The phone has not been used, just check it. The last messages are from before the water was heated and the last call was last night with the psychologist.”

Bronze, for Horrie

After Perini lost the bronze medal, Horrie came from fourth to medal to win his fourth Paralympic metal of his career. Speaking to Australian Network Nine after the incident, Horrie said: “A situation has arisen. World Rowing and since the Paralympic Games, they saw it and made the decision [de descalificar a Perini] and I was lucky enough to win the bronze medal.”

“That’s all I can really say. That’s the joy of sport. There are rules and as athletes we respect them,” he said. “I’m very happy to have won bronze. It’s my fourth Games and I can say that I’ve won medals at every Paralympic Games I’ve been to. All the sacrifices that my family has made and supported me through the good times and the bad. As with all athletes, there are a lot of bad times with training and injuries,” he concluded.