Paralympian who had tattoo of Olympic rings spoke out after rule change meant he could be banned from Games
An athlete who had a tattoo of the Olympic rings spoke out after a rule change meant he could be banned from Games at the Paralympics.
You know the exact tattoo I mean, it’s practically a rite of passage for those taking part in the games - and especially those who take home medals.
Except the Olympic and Paralympic Games had slightly... well, arguably very, different rules about them.
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Because while athletes may proudly get the infamous five rings inked onto their skin, Paralympians could have found themselves disqualified for similar body ink.
Yep, that’s because the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had rules against ‘body advertising’.
A Team GB athlete was previously banned from a race at the IPC European Championships for not covering up his rings tattoo in 2016.
However, another athlete had previously gotten away with it as he said he doesn’t ‘really agree’.
And an IPC spokesperson said at the time: "Body advertising is not allowed in any way whatsoever and that includes the Olympic rings. The athlete did not wear a cover and was therefore disqualified.
"All teams are informed of the advertising policy at a technical meeting prior to competition so it wasn't as if they had not been reminded about the rules."
American athlete Rudy Garcia-Tolson had the rings inked onto the back of his left shoulder after winning gold in the 200m individual medley swimming.
When he took part in the London 2012 Paralympics, the rule was first in place for all sports but not strictly enforced.
He said he covered up his rings with marker but by the time he jumped into the pool, it had worn off. However, he wasn’t disqualified and kept his silver medal.
“That was kind of unintentional, but at the same time I feel like that’s who I am,” he told NBC Sports.
The athlete discussed having to cover up as he prepared to tape over his rings for Rio in 2016.
"I don’t really agree with it, but it’s the rules, so we’re just going to have to go with it,” he said.
“I’m going to follow the rules. I don’t want to put all this hard work in and then get disqualified for something I have on my body.”
He added that on his team of Paralympians, the standard is that if you earn a gold medal you reward yourself by getting the famous rings tattoo – despite it not being the same logo.
“We feel like we should be treated no differently than our Olympic teammates,” he said.
“The title, the names, to me it’s just kind of unimportant. Who’s to say in 20 years we don’t have the same logo [as the Olympics].”
So, should athletes at the Paris Paralympics with Olympic rings tattoos be worried?
Thankfully, the answer is no. The Paralympic committee has since confirmed that its policies on tattoos changed after the Tokyo 2020 Games.
A spokesperson said: "We will not be banning athletes for Olympic rings tattoos at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games."
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Paralympics
Jess Battison