Image description: Becca Meyers with her elbow propped on the edge of the pool and her other arm leaning on her service dog, who's laying beside her on a tile platform.

Becca Meyers is a Deaf and blind swimmer who would be a favorite to bring home Paralympic gold. Meyers, a six-time medalist, has canceled plans to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics after being told that she can't have a dedicated personal care assistant at the games. 

In 2012, Meyers won a silver and a bronze medal in her London Paralympic debut. In 2016, she won 3 golds and a silver in Rio. While Meyers' performance in Rio was outstanding, she found that she did not have the supports that she needed.  The anxiety and stress of having to navigate what is surely a hectic experience in an unfamiliar country without the support system that she relies on were such a heavy burden that Meyers had to leave the athletes' village and stay with family in a nearby hotel.

As a result, Meyers requested the reasonable accommodation of having her own assistant accompany her at future competitions, a request that has been approved since 2017.  This year, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) officials have denied that request, stating that there's no space for her to bring an assistant due to pandemic restrictions.

Restrictions do allow personal care assistants at the games, the USOPC just hasn't prioritized reasonable accommodations that are essential for athletes to compete on a level playing field. Becca has said that due to the disruption in her training schedule, she can no longer participate in the games.

Nevertheless, we need to send a strong message to the USOPC that it is NOT OK to exclude people with disabilities by refusing to provide reasonable accommodations. 

For more information on this troubling situation and to read what Becca has to say in her own words, click the link below:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/07/20/paralympic-swimmer-becca-meyers-covid-19-tokyo-olympic-games/8006062002/