Paralympic Games 2024: This Innocuous Tattoo Could Lead to Instant Disqualification of Para-Athletes

A little too strict the Paralympic Committee? That’s what thousands of Internet users could say when they discovered this unusual information, shared by some French media and then spread on social networks. In recent days, the rumor was circulating that para-athletes would be prohibited from having tattoos on their bodies. highlighting the famous Olympic rings. This rule, imposed by the International Paralympic Committee starting from the 2012 London Games, could even lead to disqualification of the athletes concerned.

Several para-athletes have already been deprived of competitive activity: we think in particular of the British swimmer Josef Craig who, because of this “controversial” tattoo, was disqualified after his success in the 100 meters freestyle at the 2016 European Championships. But what is the reason that justifies such a ban?

Why was the Olympic rings tattoo banned by the IPC?

These rings that form the Olympic logo are actually considered a marketing logo from the IPC: they constitute a sort of advertising of the Olympic Games. However, the latter’s regulations are clear on this subject:

Body-related advertising is not permitted in any way.

Loopsider

Let us remember that, if the spirit and the beautiful values ​​embodied by the Olympic and Paralympic Games are common and shared, their logos are far from being identical. The logo of the Paralympics does not highlight the five rings imagined by Pierre de Coubertin, but rather commas of blue, red and green that we call “I acted”. For a para-athlete, wearing the Olympic logo on one’s body is therefore equivalent to advertising the “competing” organization. Banning it means protecting the Paralympic logo and brandexplains a representative of the CIP.

Paralympic Games confirm the progress started by the Olympics

But if this tattoo has been banned for more than a decade, for the Paris Paralympics this will no longer be the case. Colleagues at the New York Times, whose comments were reported by the sports daily L’Équipe, denied all the rumors that had been circulating since Friday. They rely on the words of the CIP’s communications manager, who stated it publicly “Athletes with such tattoos do not need to cover them.”

Enough to confirm the extraordinary progress brought about by these Parisian Olympic Games, which “go beyond the simple sporting and organizational framework and leave a symbolic and emotional legacy for many years.” (The Country)