Paralympic Swimming Loses Six Medal Events for Tokyo 2020

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Photo Courtesy: USA TODAY Sports

While the full final events list for swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will not be announced until later this year, the IPC has announced the medal program for all sports taking place at the Games. Swimming, in addition to athletics, has lost medal events.

Photo Courtesy: Wiki Commons

According to Inside the Games, 4,400 athletes will compete across 22 sports for 537 medals in Tokyo. The breakdown of these events features many sports adding medal events, and two sports reducing them.

“I feel great empathy for those athletes whose events are not on the programme, however, I know there are valid reasons behind the IPC’s decisions which I know they will feedback to International Federations,” Chelsey Gotell, chair of the IPC Athletes’ Council, said.

Swimming will contest 146 medal events, which is six less than what was offered in Rio. Paralympic swimming will still bring 620 athletes, the same as 2016. The event announcement has been delayed, likely due to classification system changes. Athletics lost nine medals from Rio, with the same reason for announcement delays.

“The competition to secure medal events and athlete quotas is now equally as competitive and hotly contested as the action on the field of play,” IPC President Sir Philip Craven said.

Many sports have gained medal events, including canoeing from six to nine, shooting from twelve to thirteen and wheelchair fencing from fourteen to sixteen. All of these sports and more know of their added events.

The full breakdown of medal events can be seen below in alphabetical order:

Additionally, the games will feature at least a 17-percent increase in women’s participation, as 1,756 slots are available for women excluding the gender-free spots.

The IPC stated that their goal in all these switches was to remain cost-efficient while creating the most successful and equal competition possible.

“We believe we have achieved all of our objectives and delivered a programme that will showcase the best of what Paralympic sport and Paralympic athletes have to offer at Tokyo 2020,” Craven said. “This clearly demonstrates the IPC’s drive to achieve a better gender balance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and will ensure the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games helps further promote the Paralympic Movement.”

Inside the Games and BBC Sport contributed to this report.

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