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Paralympic Gold Medal Winner Claims Wheelchair Was 'Sabotaged' Before Race

Paralympic Gold Medal Winner Claims Wheelchair Was 'Sabotaged' Before Race

He went on to win the gold despite having to duct tape his chair together

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A Paralympic gold medallist has claimed his wheelchair was 'sabotaged' ahead of the men's T51 100m final.

Peter Genyn nabbed himself the gold and set a new Paralympic record time of 20.33 seconds.

But shortly after his win, the Belgian claimed there had been an attempt to sabotage his chair.

PA

Genyn, 44, claims he found his chair with one flat tyre on Thursday and when he arrived for warm-ups on Friday found three flats, plus other damage.

Speaking after his win, he said: "We used parts from different chairs and a lot of duct tape.

"We had just arrived 45 minutes before the warm-up and we had three flat tyres and a broken compensator.

"Everybody did everything they could to help, including the Dutch team.

"We changed the spare wheels. Thankfully I'm a maniac about my equipment and I had lots of spares. And I got my revenge."

Speaking to Belgian network Sporza, Genyn said the incident had been an act of 'pure sabotage'.

Peter Genyn's team raced to fix his wheelchair before the event.
Instagram/@genynpeter

He told the news outlet: "Someone must have been very scared.

"It was terrible, I really thought it was over. But I'm glad I was able to show that they can't even win this way.

"You have to be a loser to do something like that."

Genyn said he was 'not going to accuse people' unless he's '100 percent sure' and it's reported there is no CCTV in the area.

He added: "The sabotage is of course very sad. I really can't think of who did it and why. I think it's unseen in sport, both Olympic and Paralympic. It's low, very low."

He went on to thank everyone who helped get the chair up and running before the race.

He continued: "It was an awesome team - the coach, the service team from [German wheelchair and prosthetics firm] Ottobock. Everybody did everything to get the chair ready."

PA

The day after the incident, The Belgian Paralympic Committee filed a complaint, according to Sporza.

The news outlet reports that the BPC has 'now decided to file a complaint for the sabotage, although no one from the organisation can really pinpoint the culprit for the time being'.

A spokesperson for Team Belgium and The Belgian Paralympic Committee told LADbible: "We confirm that the wheelchair of Peter Genyn (and Roger Habsch the day before) had been damaged and that it looks like it has been a deliberate attempt to stop Peter from starting the race.

"We have been in contact with the IPC and TOCOG to press charges and are looking into the possibilities.

"Although this will probably only be symbolic, as there are no camera's in the storage area, we want to help in trying to avoid this happening again."

LADbible has contacted the International Paralympic Committee for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: SPORT