Paralympics stars risks being BANNED if tattoos breach little known rule after ParalympicsGB star was booted out
BRITISH Paralympians face being BANNED from the Paris Games due to a little-known rule.
Following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, the French capital is now set to play host to the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.
However, excited athletes could see their games come crashing down if they fail to cover up any body artwork.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) – a completely separate organisation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – enforces a rule banning “body advertising”.
This rule even extends to a tattoo of the Olympic rings.
British swimmer Josef Craig found this out the hard way ahead of Rio 2016, when he competed at the IPC Swimming European Championships in Portugal.
The then 19-year-old was disqualified from the final of the men’s S8 100m final freestyle after a perfect heat-winning performance.
Organisers hit Craig with a ban due to the Olympic rings being visible on the left side of his chest under a ParalympicsGB lion’s head tattoo.
An IPC statement at the time said: “Body advertising is not allowed in any way whatsoever and that includes the Olympic rings… the athlete did not wear a cover and was therefore disqualified.
“All teams are informed of the advertising policy at a technical meeting prior to competition so it wasn’t as if they had not been reminded about the rules.”
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Despite the controversy surrounding the policy, it IS expected to be enforced once again in Paris.
Following his disqualification, Craig bounced back to win bronze in the 100m freestyle S8 at the Rio Games with his tattoos covered.
Meanwhile, the IOC have their own rules on tattoos, with Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers allowed to show off a tattoo of Olympic rings due to the two bodies having different rules.
In their case, tattoos, including those of the Olympic rings, are permitted to be on display unless they advertise a product.
The now-retired Craig also won gold in the S7 400m freestyle final at London 2012, while also winning two golds at the World Championships in Montreal in 2013.