Down But Not Out

Let’s see athletes with Down syndrome represented at the Paralympic Games!

When you tune into the Paralympics Games, take note of one very glaring omission – athletes with Down syndrome. There are none.

This time of celebration and athletic prowess on the world’s largest stage is not as inclusive as it could be.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition in the world and arguably one of the most recognisable disabilities, yet the Paralympic dream is denied to this cohort.

There are around 6 million people in the world with Down syndrome. There are between 13,000 to 15,000 people with Down syndrome in Australia (though we don’t know the actual number as we surprisingly have no national data collection on this)

Currently, athletes with Down syndrome can technically qualify under intellectual disability categories, however this fails to adequately account for the unique physical, functional and neurological biomarkers of Down syndrome and essentially leaves athletes with Down syndrome with no chance of qualifying against their peers who may have intellectual disability but no other physical impairments.

Other disability types have also advocated for inclusion, including deaf athletes.

For Down syndrome swimming, as one example, there are S18 and S19 classifications at the local and national levels, yet the IPC are yet to adopt these at the Paralympic level for reasons that largely remain unknown.

Let’s make the change!