Tully Kearney files complaint over classification issues

Team GB Paralympian Tully Kearney has made an official complaint to World Para Swimming  (WPS) over how she was treated during the classification process. The 26-year-old swimmer was  born with cerebral palsy and in her mid-teens developed generalised dystonia, a progressive  neurological movement disorder, before receiving a diagnosis for scoliosis in 2019.  

Kearney has stated that she was subjected to an ‘inappropriate, insulting, at times humiliating’  classification process which involved being ‘hauled up out’ of her wheelchair. She also claims  she was made to complete complex paperwork whilst suffering from a concussion.  

The intention of classification in Paralympic sport is to ensure fair competition, however in this  case it appears that this is not achieved. Classification determines which athletes are eligible to  compete in a sport and how those athletes are then grouped together for competition to minimise  the impact of the athletes’ impairments on sport performance. Kearney had been classified as S5  since 2018 and won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the 100m freestyle event in  this classification. However, she has said that the review in 2023 led to her classification being  unexpectedly changed to S6. The change to S6 meant she was now required to compete against  athletes with a much lower degree of impairment.  

The parathlete has been reclassified several times when she was a teenager but told BBC Sport  that the decision by World Para Swimming to reclassify her to S6 has removed her chances of  contesting for medals at this year's games in Paris.

“As I have two neurological conditions, one stable and one progressive, it is irrational and  unreasonable to reach a conclusion on my classification status that states my disabilities have  actually ‘improved’. This is a medical impossibility” Kearney stated.  

The review took place in two stages as classifiers could not reach a decision over whether she  would be reclassified. Tully has claimed that no reason was given to her over why this was the  case. At the second review, 10 points were added to her score which changed her classification from S5 to S6. She has also argued that other parts of the process were ‘inherently flawed’ such  as the paperwork stating that she used crutches to walk, when in fact she has been a wheelchair user since 2018. To her, this ‘insensitive error’ is proof that the process was poorly carried out.  

In addition to these mistakes, the swimmer also felt that she received ‘insensitive treatment’  during the review process, where she was dragged to her feet from her wheelchair. She added  “(an official was asked) to haul me up out of my wheelchair into a semi-standing position then  hold me up with my face against the wall to prevent me from falling and stating that this  constituted ‘walking’. This was not only clearly insensitive, demeaning, and frankly humiliating  to myself as an athlete and as a disabled person, but yet again demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of my disability”. At the time, Kearney was also recovering from a brain  injury which caused a concussion and therefore the parathlete has said it is ‘wholly unfair’ to  have allowed her to sign off on the reclassification with such an injury.  

Other parathletes have previously criticised the review process, with five-time Paralympic  champion Hannah Cockroft describing the repeated tests as ‘humiliating’. In 2017, she said “my  worst one was I had to have electrodes attached to my spine and then electric shocks sent up and  down my legs to see which nerves worked – that pain was sickening... You’re going through all  these things literally to show that you are not standing there pretending to be disabled”.  

World Para Swimming have been contacted by the BBC for a comment but stated “The details of  an individual athlete’s classification are confidential, and World Para Swimming is unable to  comment on the classification of individual athletes”. British Swimming, the sport’s National  Governing Body, have shared a statement backing Kearney through the process.