Paralympics: Doubts about classifications Suspicion of fraud casts a shadow over para-judo competitions
They have driving licenses or are filmed playing cards: Allegedly blind or severely visually impaired para-judokas are competing at the Paralympics under massive suspicion of fraud, according to ARD research. The World Blind Sports Federation remains silent. Above all, there is a classification system that literally invites trickery and deception.
One man takes playing cards from the table and sorts them loosely in his hand, the other operates his mobile phone, tapping his fingers on the screen. The videos don't show anything unusual - if the two men weren't competing at the Paralympics in Paris, in para-judo, in the ‘J1’ category - the category for completely blind athletes.
The videos were leaked to ARD and show just two of several suspected cases of cheating in para-judo. They reinforce an already existing climate of mistrust, anger and resignation in the scene at the start of the Paralympics in Paris. This is because the sport of blind and visually impaired judokas is governed by a critically scrutinized International Blind Sports Association (IBSA). IBSA implements a classification system for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) that literally invites trickery and deception.
People who are really disabled should go to the Paralympics.
Yuri Marchenko knows this system inside out, and he says that his fight against it cost him his ticket to Paris. The 40-year-old para-judoka from Ukraine, runner-up in the 2022 European Championships and blind since the age of 16, has been investigating cases of suspected cheating in his own national team. His motivation for doing so is simple and has a shocking core.
"We're at war right now, many people are disabled, without legs, without arms, without eyes. I want people who are really disabled to be able to come to the Paralympics and realize their potential," says Marchenko: "And as long as there are healthy people who are trying to get classified, these people won't be accepted."
He himself, he claims, was chauffeured in a car by a team-mate who was supposedly severely visually impaired. Marchenko says he found out that some Ukrainian judoka classified as blind or visually impaired had a valid driving license. However, even the restrictions imposed on athletes who are not completely blind categorically rule out their participation in road traffic. An ophthalmologist told ARD that driving is impossible under these circumstances.
Four out of a total of seven of these judokas, who Marchenko considers to be fraudsters, are on the start list for the Paralympics and will be competing for medals in the Champ de Mars arena in Paris from 5 September. Marchenko's suspicions have still not been cleared up.
Drunk driving
He is not present in Paris. Marchenko claims that he was no longer considered for the national team after he sent compromising material - including a document certifying that a para-judoka from his country was drunk driving - to officials of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee (UPC). The UPC denied these allegations when asked by ARD. Marchenko would not be taking part in Paris for sporting reasons, UPC said. The UPC also stated that it could not check driving license data.
Ukrainian politician and member of parliament Yuri Kamelchuk, among others, who supports Marchenko and whom ARD interviewed about the case, believes that the submitted document and the para-judoka's statements are authentic. According to Marchenko, he also informed the world federation IBSA - but there was no reaction. IBSA did not respond to an ARD enquiry on this point.
Ukraine is not the only country to be criticized in the scene. A chat between classifiers, which ARD was able to view, also discusses events relating to Azerbaijan. One of these classifiers, who wishes to remain anonymous, told ARD: "Of all the sports, para-judo is the one with most of the cheating. I think all classifiers agree with that. Someone who sees more than their opponent naturally has advantages. I keep hearing that these are the people who win gold. And Azerbaijan is one of the countries with which we have precisely these problems."
Expert: test for classification can be easily manipulated
On behalf of IBSA or - in the context of the Paralympics - the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), almost 50 classifiers worldwide are responsible for the assessment and categorization of para-judoka into the classes J1 (blind) and J2 (visually impaired). The specialists themselves consider the prescribed procedure, which is similar in parts to an eye test at the ophthalmologist, to be easy to manipulate. One point of criticism is that too much depends on the subjective impression of the classifier.
"Anyone who credibly pretends to have no or only poor vision usually gets through," says the classifier. Accompanying documents such as medical reports, which the athletes must submit, can also be manipulated, he says, and cheating often takes place there too. The Ukrainian judoka Marchenko claims that top athletes are briefed intensively by doctors, who are aware of all the classification processes, before the examinations so that they are categorized as para-judoka even without visual impairment.
Suspicion towards Azerbaijan
One case that reveals the problems of the system and its lack of transparency is that of Azerbaijan's Shahana Hajiyeva. She was a surprise Paralympic champion in the J2 class in Tokyo 2021 and has been a star on the scene ever since. The IPC included her in an advertising campaign for the Paralympics in Paris. But the 24-year-old won't be competing there at all. She was no longer allowed to compete because, according to internal documents, she apparently failed to submit important documents regarding the status of her disability during her last two classifications.
It is unclear whether she was suddenly no longer able to prove her visual impairment, which was apparently still documented in Tokyo, or whether there were other reasons. The Azerbaijani Paralympic Committee did not answer questions about this, nor did she herself respond to an enquiry.
Azerbaijan, which was by far the most successful nation in Para-Judo in Tokyo with six gold medals, is also under scrutiny for another reason. The president of the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) is Azerbaijan's Ilgar Rahimov. He is considered a confidant of the authoritarian head of state Ilham Aliyev and is highly controversial within his own association.
"Attempted hostile takeover"
In an open letter in 2022, colleagues on the Executive Committee vehemently attacked the then Vice President Rahimov, warning of an ‘attempted hostile takeover’ of the association by the Azerbaijani. They denounced ‘continuous threats’ by Rahimov, accusing him of ‘intimidation, bullying and harassment’. Nevertheless, Rahimov became president of IBSA. In response to the open letter, the association, which, like the IPC, has its headquarters in Bonn, spoke of a ‘malicious agenda’ against the Azerbaijani when asked by ARD.
The waves in the association are far from being calmed. Under Rahimov's leadership, the heads of the classifiers were relieved of their duties last June. Just a few weeks later in Cairo, para-judokas were given the opportunity to be classified for Paris, even though the deadline had long since passed. It is not known who was subsequently granted the right to compete in Paris.
According to ARD information, two Azerbaijanis had also registered for the admission test in Cairo. An ARD team was present at the event in Egypt, which was supervised by a representative of the IPC. She warned all classifiers in an email, which was later leaked to ARD, urgently against making contact: ‘Don't get involved with the ARD journalist. And let me know if you have already been contacted by her.’ The question arises: Does the IPC have something to hide?
When asked by ARD, IBSA stated that the appointment in Cairo had been scheduled because of the classification of the Egyptian Goalball team. IBSA did not answer questions in connection with para-judoka classifications in Cairo.
Landmark court judgement after Paris
The classification system in para-judo appears to be particularly vulnerable, but there have also been repeated reports of attempted fraud in the classification procedures in other Paralympic sports. And it is highly likely that the discussions about this will not subside even after the Paralympics in Paris - not least because a landmark case is currently being heard at the Cologne Regional Court.
Sports lawyer Christof Wieschemann from Bochum is currently representing a para-athlete, a hand cyclist from the USA, in a legal dispute against the IPC. The aim: in future, athletes should also be able to take legal action against classifications of competitors. This legal recourse is currently excluded by the regulations. ‘I share the view that the classification system as it is today cannot continue to exist. Precisely because it encourages arbitrary treatment,’ said Wieschemann in an ARD interview. The lawyer believes that the case has the potential to shake the Paralympic system to its foundations. The Cologne Regional Court will hand down its judgement in mid-September.