Italian rower Giacomo Perini was disqualified and forfeited his bronze medal from the Paralympics after it was discovered that he had a cell phone on his boat during the Paralympics. Despite this, the athlete said it was an error and he had never used it for communication.
The 28-year-old was disqualified by World Rowing after finishing third in the PR1 men’s single sculls final, which is the category for rowers who only use their arms and shoulders. The World Rowing statement stated: “In the final of the PR1 men’s singles, the Italian athlete was found to be using communications equipment during the race, in violation of rule 28 and Appendix R2, Bye-Law of rule 28.”
Disappointed with the way the statement was worded, Perini claimed he had left his phone in a tiny bag on the boat that also had a bottle of water and that it had been an oversight. He also claimed he had not broken any rules.
The athlete declared: “They didn’t ‘find’ me simply because I never used the mobile phone on the boat… I gave the phone to the jury so that they could see that the last call was from the night before, with the psychologist… The rules do not say that you cannot bring the phone, but that you cannot communicate.”
The rule states ‘no communication with the crew is permitted from outside the boat using electric or electronic equipment’. With this, the Italian Rowing Federation announced that they will be taking the ruling to the World Rowing Executive Board after their appeal was turned down.
Source: CNA