By Aglaia Pezzato on SwimSwam
EUROPEAN PARA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Sunday-Saturday, April 21-27, 2024
- Madeira, Portugal
- LCM (50m)
- Live Results
- Official results
The European Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal, will conclude on Saturday evening. Controversies surrounding Sergii Shevtsov‘s presence continue.
About a month ago, SwimSwam reported on the case of Sergii Shevtson, a Ukrainian freestyle swimmer who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and participated in some para-swimming events this season.
After competing in the Para World Series’ Italian leg and being initially classified as S9, the WPS decided to reevaluate his condition. This decision came during the European Championships, the last valid opportunity to obtain an international classification necessary for participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Earlier this week, the commission deemed the 25-year-old athlete eligible for classification in S10 and SB9 (SB indicating races with dominant leg use, such as breaststroke and medleys, where classifications may differ from those in backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle).
SHEVTSOV WEEK’S EVENTS
The week of competitions began with Shevtsov participating in the 100m breaststroke SB9, where he finished 13th with a time of 1:26.80.
On the same day, Shevtsov also competed in the 50m freestyle S10, qualifying for the final and finishing third behind Italy’s Stefano Raimondi, who won silver, and compatriot Nimchenko, who won gold.
On the penultimate day of competition, he took part in the heats of the 100m freestyle S10, qualifying for the final but ultimately not competing.
REMOVED FROM ALL S10 RESULTS
Despite having a photo of the podium for the 50m freestyle S10 (the cover photo of this article) and full race videos on the Paralympic Games YouTube channel, which prove Shevtsov’s presence in the freestyle events of these days, the official results of the competition have erased all traces of the Ukrainian athlete in these distances. Reviewing the PDF results of the S10 50m freestyle heats, the final where he finished third, and the S10 100m freestyle heats, Shevtsov’s name is nowhere to be found. All PDFs of these events show “CORRECTED” results. The bronze medal in the S10 50m freestyle now appears awarded to Dmitry Gregoryev, a neutral athlete.
INCOMPLETE CLASSIFICATION
Sources from SwimSwam indicate that Sergii Shevtsov is currently listed as “CNC,” which, according to World Para Swimming regulations, stands for “Classification Not Completed”:
“If, at any stage of athlete evaluation, World Para Swimming or a classification panel is unable to allocate a sport class to an athlete, WPS, the Head of Classification or the relevant Chief Classifier may designate that athlete as ‘Classification Not Completed’ (CNC).
The CNC designation is not a port class and is not subject to the provisions in these classification rules concerning protest.
(…)
An athlete who is designed CNC may not compete in the sport of World Para Swimming.”
The specific physical condition that qualifies Sergii Shevtsov as a para-athlete has not been detailed. In March, his coach described his illness as follows: “Sergii has a rapidly progressive genetic disease diagnosed when he was 14 years old. In the last two years, his health has significantly deteriorated, entitling him to participate in para-swimming events.”
Shevtsov and his coach both declined to elaborate on the condition.
Shevtsov competed in the men’s 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing 35th with a time of 49.55, and has also represented Ukraine at the World Swimming Championships in 2017, 2019, and 2022, and was part of the Energy Standard team during the ISL 2019 season.
Shevtsov holds the Ukrainian national record in the men’s 100m freestyle for both long course (48.26) and short course (46.38) events.
SwimSwam: Shevtsov Wins European Para Bronze, Then Is Removed From the Results
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