Paralympic dreams dashed ahead of Rio
Para-cycling world champion Tim Williams is questioning his future in the sport after being unable to compete at the Paralympics in Rio.
‘‘I’m at a bit of a cross-roads whether I want to go on with my career, whether I keep going,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s thrown a bit of doubt.’’ A quadriplegic after breaking his neck in a rugby scrum in 1995, Williams competes in the H1 class, which wasn’t being offered at next month’s Paralympics.
For the Rio Paralympics, the H1 and H2 hand cycling classifications will be combined.
This means para-athletes that would have traditionally not raced together due to differing levels of functionality would be required to do so in Rio.
Williams, who lives in Kaihere in the Waikato, said he would not be competitive at Rio because he would be competing against guys with more function.
‘‘I describe it as to get an eightyear-old to run in a 16-year-old class, I’m not competitive in that class,’’ he said.
Williams said the classifications at Rio were ‘‘not fair’’ and many athletes in his class would be affected. The H1 class had been run at the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships in 2014 and 2015.
‘‘So it’s something that’s out there and available. It’s a big disappointment,’’ he said.
There were 13 international competitors in the H1 class at the world championships last year, he said.
Williams won silver in that event, and gold at the world champs in 2014, so it was ‘‘very disappointing’’ that he was unable to compete at Rio, he said.
‘‘It was one of the things that was next on the list,’’ he said.
‘‘That’s the disappointing part of it. I’m at the top of the crop and to have it as a realistic goal, it’s kind of a kick in the mouth.’’
Williams said he hoped the H1 class would be available at the next Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020.
At 40-years-old, he still expected to be a contender in the sport in four years time. However, there was no guarantee that the H1 class would be run in Tokyo, he said.
Paralympics New Zealand high performance director Malcolm Humm said Paralympics New Zealand worked with other nations to challenge the decision on Williams’ behalf, but was unsuccessful.
The decision was a huge disappointment to both Paralympics New Zealand and to Williams, he said.
‘‘Paralympics New Zealand expressed their disappointment at the outcome as Tim is a former para-cycling world champion and was one of the medal favourites at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games before these changes took place,’’ he said.
‘‘This is upsetting for Tim and those that supported him within the Paralympics New Zealand para-cycling programme.’’