Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett: Paralympian banned after disability is ruled 'psychological'

The canoeist says she has been left 'heartbroken' by the decision

One of Britain’s best hopes of a medal at the Brazil Paralympics has been told she can no longer compete after being told her disability is “psychological” rather than physical.

Charlotte Wilkinson-Burnett, 23, who has been in a wheelchair for four years since she slipped in a shower in 2011, won gold at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in the summer.

But tests by doctors have shown she has “conversion disorder”, which causes people to suffer from symptoms such as paralysis without any identifiable physical cause.

Ms Wilkinson-Burnett says she has been left “heartbroken” after being told by British Canoeing she no longer qualified under International Canoe Federation rules.

She found out shortly before she was due to compete in the Paracanoeing World Championships and said on her blog: “I should have been competing at the world championships, but following my declassification, this is clearly no longer happening.

“I thought that I’d be able to accept what has happened and watch my friends compete, but this has been one of the most heart-breaking times of my entire sporting career.”

Ms Wilkinson-Burnett, from Leicestershire, was an England under-21s hockey player before her accident at a summer school in the US in 2011. She says she has no feeling from the chest down. She began canoeing in September 2013 and was a medal prospect in Rio but was diagnosed with conversion disorder after extensive investigations at hospitals in Nottingham, Leicester and the US. Medics said the tests “strongly suggest” there is no underlying neurological abnormality to explain the weakness and numbness in her legs.

A spokeswoman for British Canoeing said: “Based on all the information we now have, we can confirm that unfortunately Charlotte’s disability would not be classifiable under the current paracanoe eligibility criteria set by the International Canoe Federation.”

She added: “We are extremely surprised and disappointed with this turn of events, which is a huge blow to Charlotte, who is a very talented and committed athlete, but it is vital that the integrity of the classification process is upheld to ensure it provides a level playing field for all athletes to participate.”

Dr Timothy Nicholson, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London said: “Anyone who understands the disorder will have mixed feelings about somebody being banned from competing.”