Paralympic Rower Disqualified for Cheating, Australian Athlete Awarded Bronze

A dramatic disqualification at the Paralympic Games in Paris saw Italian rower Giacomo Perini stripped of his bronze medal after being found guilty of using a banned device during his final.

Perini had initially crossed the finish line in third place in the men’s PR1 single sculls final on Sunday but was later disqualified when officials discovered he had an open phone on his boat.

World Rowing confirmed the disqualification, stating, “In the final of the PR1 M1x, the ITA PR1 MRX was found to be using communications equipment during the race, in breach of Rule 28 and Appendix R2, Bye-Law to Rule 28. As a result, the crew has been excluded from the event and will be ranked last.”

Perini, competing in his first Paralympic Games, denied using the phone and claimed the device was accidentally left in his boat. “The disqualification was born from an oversight:

I hadn’t noticed it,” Perini told Italian outlet RaiSport. “The phone has not been used; just check. The last messages date back to before the warming up in the water, the last call last night with the psychologist.”

Due to Perini’s disqualification, Australia’s Erik Horrie, who initially finished fourth, was promoted to the bronze medal position.

Horrie, who has now medalled in all four Paralympic appearances, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome. “There was a situation that happened.

Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard claimed gold (Picture: Getty)

World Rowing and Paralympics officials saw it and then decided [to disqualify Perini], and I was lucky enough to come away with the bronze,” Horrie said. “I’m just excited about getting the bronze. It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain.”

Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard secured the gold medal with a commanding 11-second lead, marking a significant improvement from his fifth-place finish in Tokyo.

“It has been a three-year process in which we’ve broken down the 2000m race course,” Pritchard said. “For everything to pay off like that and to win in style is pretty special.”