October 7/14 18:08 pm - Cycling May Not Be At 2020 Paralympic Games

Posted by Editor on 10/7/14
 

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced 16 of the up to 23 sports that will take part in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, and Cycling is not on that list.  The reason is due to an administrative error by the UCI, who did not submit the necessary paperwork by the July 28th deadline, only getting the documentation into the IPC by late last week, who stated "as a result there was insufficient time for it to be assessed in time."

This means that Cycling now will be one of eight sports competing for up to seven spots in the Games (not all seven spots will necessarily be filled).  The 16 sports that have been selected so far are:  athletics, archery, badminton, boccia, equestrian, goalball, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

The eight sports vying for the remaining seven spots are:  canoe, cycling, football 5-a-side, football 7-a-side, judo, tae kwon do, sailing and wheelchair fencing.  A decision on the final sports will be made early next year.

The UCI said in a statement, "The UCI remains fully committed to the promotion of para-cycling and looks forward to a positive dialogue with the IPC over the next few months to ensure that cycling continues to play its part in helping the Paralympic Games go from strength to strength."