Simon Powell: Paralympic archer has his Rio 2016 dreams wrecked by rules

At the stroke of a pen, a career that took him away from home for days at a time after his son had been born was over

A world-class paralympic archer has spoken of his heartbreak after his Rio ambitions were crushed by officialdom.

Simon Powell was forced out after just three days of practice at a world championships he hoped to use as the launch pad for glory next summer. Mr Powell has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that makes his ligaments and tendons elastic and his joints loose – subjecting him to regular dislocations.

His disability is such that when he was first assessed for international competition his upper body point score was rated at 56 by physiotherapists – more than double the 25 needed to qualify for one of the archery events at the 2016 Games.

But that counted for nothing when a classifier’s appeal sent him home after the first official practice in Germany in August, after his medical condition was redefined as “non eligible”.

His cruel treatment didn’t end there – he wasn’t even allowed to sit with his team to cheer them on. At the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen, a career that took him away from home for days at a time after his son had been born was over.

“I’m just gutted,” he told The Independent. “I’ve missed out on a lot and now I’ve lost all my love for the sport. I got through the classification by a mile. I’ve clearly proved that I have limitations but the IPC [International Paralympic Committee] has decided that doesn’t matter.

“I hoped to come top eight in Germany and hopefully to medal individually. I was feeling great – in my best form ever – only for there to be a protest by a classifier and an IPC decision that my condition is not classifiable. I was just distraught. The following day I thought, well, I can’t shoot but I can sit behind the team and support them, [but] the officials told me I wasn’t allowed entry.

“I was sent to the hotel and flown home on my own, leaving my equipment behind me. It was another punch in the face.”

The 30-year-old Romford man works in business development for a telecoms company, but, having moved into international competitions and gained medals in every event he entered bar one, had hopes of becoming a full-time athlete.

Worse was to follow the declassification, however. The judgement has been viewed as a stigma by some in the archery community.

“In the pro shop [where] I was sponsored for equipment, they had a photo up from when I was part of the team that won the European championships. Someone said: ‘Shouldn’t they take that down.’”

That depressing attitude is not reflected by Archery GB which remains supportive even though its hands have been tied. The organisation said it was “extremely saddened” and “very proud of Simon’s achievements”.

Controversies over classification are common in para-sport, but to declassify an entire condition, leaving an up-and-coming athlete stranded mid-competition, is a particularly brutal example.

Mark Redhead, chair of Ehlers Danlos Support UK, described the situation as “very disappointing”.

“This case highlights a lack of understanding about EDS and the need to raise awareness among the medical community and wider public so that the conditions are more widely recognised.”