British Para-athletes ‘cleared’ in cheat row

Paralympic bosses are confident no British athletes cheated in their classifications for Rio 2016.

Five Britons were among 80 para-athletes from 24 countries investigated by the International Paralympic Committee before Rio over possible rule breaches.

But the IPC investigation, launched after a complaint by Michael Breen, the father of Paralympian Olivia Breen and a prominent classification campaigner, ruled the quintet, who are unnamed but believed to include Sophie Hahn and Hannah Cockroft, were correctly classified. Breen effectively questioned the eligibility of Hahn and Cockroft of competing in their categories at a DCMS Parliamentary committee hearing yesterday.

But the IPC today said the five Britions had all been cleared with the most detailed medical evidence available, concluding “all were in the correct class.”

The IPC will contact Damian Collins MP, who leads the DCMS committee, to raise issues over what they deemed an unfairly balanced hearing.