Joe
Nigerian athletes and in deed other athletes who before now stood the risk of disqualification for the Olympics Rings tattoo on their body can now heave a sigh of relief PeakNews Online reports.
This is so as a significant policy change has been announced by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Paralympians with tattoos of the Olympic rings will no longer be required to cover them during competition, marking a reversal of a rule that has been in place since the London 2012 Paralympics.
This change was confirmed in a statement from Craig Spence, the IPC’s chief brand and communications officer, who communicated the update via email to The New York Times. However, Spence did not provide further details on the reasons behind the policy shift.
The original rule, part of the IPC’s advertising policy, was introduced to prevent the display of Olympic rings tattoos during competitions. Although the regulation was not stringently enforced in London, it did lead to controversy in later years.
American Paralympian Rudy Garcia-Tolson, who has the Olympic rings tattooed on his left shoulder, encountered issues with the rule on multiple occasions. Despite initial disqualifications due to his tattoo being exposed, he was allowed to keep his medals after successful appeals.
Garcia-Tolson, who first got the tattoo at age 16 after winning a gold medal in the 200m individual medley at the Athens 2004 Games, has long advocated for the rule to be changed. While the five-time Paralympic medallist will not be competing in Paris, he has expressed interest in returning to the Games in 2028, when they will be held in Los Angeles.
In other news, the AIPS Sport Media Awards 2023 have announced their continental rankings, celebrating the top performers in sports media across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania.
These rankings highlight the outstanding contributions of journalists and media professionals in covering sports events and telling the incredible stories of athletes worldwide. For more details on these achievements, visit aips100.com.
