Paralympics hopeful told she is not disabled
A BRITISH Paralympics contender who has been in a wheelchair for four years has been told she can no longer compete in the canoe because her disability is psychological.
British Canoeing found that 23-year-old Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, who claims she has had no feeling from the waist down since she slipped in the shower in 2011, is suffering from “conversion disorder”. The rare syndrome causes people to suffer from neurological symptoms such as paralysis without an identifiable physical cause.
The patient does not wilfully make up the symptoms and usually believes there is still an underlying physical problem.
Despite winning gold at the Canoe Sprint World Cup this summer, she has been told she will not be selected for the Paralympics on the grounds of doctors’ reports. British Canoeing insists paracanoeists must have suffered a physical injury to qualify under International Canoe Federation rules.
Miss Wilkinson-Burnett said she had been left “heartbroken”. Writing on her blog after her hopes of competing at the Paracanoeing World Championships were dashed, she said: “This has been one of the most heartbreaking times of my entire sporting career. I had worked so hard for it, overcome serious injury … I guess this just proves how quickly your dreams can fall apart.”
An investigation is under way to determine how she came to represent Britain at paracanoeing in the first place – and whether her World Cup medal should be rescinded.
Miss Wilkinson-Burnett was an England U21 hockey player before her accident in Rhode Island in 2011. She began canoeing in 2013 and was seen as a strong prospect for a medal in Rio.
A University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust spokesman said: “Charlotte has been diagnosed with conversion disorder by three separate doctors.”