Classification of Disabilities draws a line in the sand at the 2012 Paralympics

The Paralympics are held every two years after the Olympics in order to celebrate and recognize the achievements of athletes with impairments that are still able to compete at the elite level. Every Paralympian qualifies and is then entered into their respective event based on what type of disability the competitor has and the severity of the disability. Yet, every so often an athlete will be tugged into controversy due to disagreements with the IPC, International Paralympic Committee. This year, a disagreement has affected another athlete just before her the Paralympic dreams were about to be realized.

On Thursday, 17-year old Victoria Arlen was denied authorization to compete in the Paralympics due to the fact that her disability was not considered to be severe enough to compete against the other Paralympic competitors. Arlen was originally set to be a part of the able bodied 2012 American Swim team until she contracted a neurological disease that put her in a coma for two years, paralyzing both of her legs. After she overcame her a coma, Arlen began to train and swim competitively again. During this training, Arlen was able to break world records in her events and qualify for the 2012 Paralympics. However, on Thursday Arlen was told that she would not be able to compete because the severity of her injury did not match that of the other competitors in her classification.

In the Paralympics, competitors are put into different categories and classifications due to the specific type of disability they possess and the severity of that disability. There are six main groups of disabilities recognized in the Paralympics: spinal injuries, cerebral palsy, amputees, the blind or visually impaired, intellectual disabilities, and those whose disabilities fall outside of these groups, like dwarfism and multiple sclerosis. Competitors are then given a number to represent the severity of their disability once they are divided into their respective disability category. The numbers range from one, being the most severe, to ten, being the least severe. This becomes even more difficult in events like judo and weight lifting when competitors must also be divided by weight and ability level.

Well recently the IPC has tried to decrease the number of medals and disciplines in the Paralympics by looking beyond the disability of the competitors, and taking the athlete's potential ability into consideration. Looking at a person's "ability" accesses the functional potential of an athlete and does not take their disability into account. Because of these tests that the IPC now requires, the athletes are measured against a performance curve and strive, not to perform at the peak of their abilities, but to land on the correct side of the curve so that they will be allowed to compete. This takes away from what the Paralympics was created for.

I can relate, somewhat, because I, like Arlen, was in a coma for over two weeks. I had to overcome and deal with the effects of loosing memories and abilities. After overcoming the a coma, I did not remember how to talk, walk, or do simple activities like read or write. Now for someone like Arlen to overcome two years of being in a coma to make it to the Paralympics, being disqualified because her disability is not severe enough seems outlandish. A coma is a very serious medical issue for anyone, and overcoming the ramifications from a coma takes time. The amount of politics included in the classification process of athletes is outrageous, and the athletes must band together in order to make it through the controversy.

This time, however, the luck ended up being on the side of the athlete. Arlen contested the IPC's decision and won. The IPC reviewed the evidence and overturned their original decision, allowing for Arlen to compete in the 400 meters swim this weekend. However, this will not be the last time that a Paralympian faces resistance from the IPC. Everyone must remember, the next time something like this happens, that the Paralympics was created in order to celebrate differences. It was not created as a competition of ability against disability.