A Paralympic athlete was dramatically stripped of his bronze medal after an investigation found he had cheated by using a banned device during his final.
Italian rower Giacomo Perini crossed the line in third in the men’s PR1 single sculls final on Sunday to claim a medal at his first Paralympic Games in Paris.
Gold went to Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard, while silver was awarded to Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi.
However, there was drama shortly after the race when Perini was disqualified after officials found he had been using an open phone during the race
A statement from World Rowing said: ‘In the final of the PR1 M1x, the ITA PR1 MRX was found to be using communications equipment during the race, in breach of Rule 28 and Appendix R2, Bye-Law to Rule 28.
‘As a result, the crew has been excluded from the event and will be ranked last.’
Speaking after his disqualification, the Italian pleaded his innocence, insisting he hadn’t used his phone during the race and simply forgot to take it out before entering his boat.
‘The disqualification was born from an oversight: I hadn’t noticed it at all,’ Perini told Italian outlet RaiSPort.
‘The phone has not been used, just check. The last messages date back to before the heating in the water, the last call last night with the psychologist’
With Perini stripped of bronze, Australia’s Erik Horrie was upgraded from fourth into the bronze-medal position to claim the fourth Paralympic medal of his career.
Speaking to Australian Network Nine after the incident, Horrie said: ‘There was a situation that happened.
‘World Rowing and Paralympics officials saw it and then made the decision [to disqualify Perini] and I was lucky enough to come away with the bronze,’ he said.
‘That’s all I can say really. It’s the joys of sport. There are rules, and as athletes, we stick to them.
‘I’m just excited about getting the bronze. I’m at my fourth Games and I can say that I’ve medalled at every single Paralympics that I’ve been to.’
He continued: ‘All the sacrifices my family have made [and] putting up with me in the good times and the bad times. As with all athletes, there are a lot of bad times with training and injury.
‘So, this is for [my wife] Michelle and the kids back home. It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain.’
Britain’s Pritchard, meanwhile, claimed gold by an emphatic 11-second margin and was elated by his display having finished fifth in Tokyo.
‘It has been a three-year process in which we’ve broken down the 2000m race course,’ he said.
‘For everything to pay off like that and to win in style is pretty special.’
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