Paralympian stripped of medal after being late to event

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has stripped Malaysian athlete Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli of his gold medal, after he was 3 minutes late to his shot put event

THE ICP defended the decision after a referee found that he had no justifiable reason for being late. Tournament organisers allowed Zolkefli to compete in the F20 class competition, which is for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizul Azumu said the country’s sports council will investigate the decision.

“The athletes have waited for five years but their hopes and spirits were destroyed by a delay of not even five minutes,” he said in a report to local news outlet The Star.

“This is something which is very sad.”

Zolkefli was disqualified after a complaint by the Ukrainian team, whose competitor Maksym Koval won the gold medal after the decision. Oleksandr Yarovyi, Another Ukrainian, took the silver medal.

Ukraine lodged the complaint before the event begun, after Zolkefli was late to the call room. Paralympic organisers allowed Zolkefli to compete under appeal, in case in had a justifiable reason for being late.

Zolkefli and his team said the athlete had not heard the announcement in any language he understood.

Craig Spence, an IPC spokesperson, said the Ukrainian team shouldn’t be blamed for the decision.

“I’m sorry. Rules are rules. The decision was taken. It wasn’t the Ukrainians’ fault that the Malaysian was late,” he said.

The IPC rejected an appeal against the decision.

Malaysia currently have 1 gold medal, and 2 silvers. The Tokyo Paralympics ends on Sunday the 5th of September.

By Parker McKenzie