Italian Paralympic rowing athlete stripped of bronze medal amid suspicions of using communication device

Recently, in the rowing competition at the Paris Paralympics, Italian athlete Giacomo Perini was stripped of the bronze medal on suspicion of cheating, causing a great uproar.

It is reported that in the men's single sculls pr1 final on September 1, Perini originally achieved third place. However, after the race, the referee found an unknown "communication device" on his rowing boat. The International Rowing Federation immediately launched an investigation and, according to relevant rules, disqualified Perini and ranked him at the bottom.

The Italian side insists that Perini just accidentally left his mobile phone on the rowing boat and did not intentionally use a communication device to cheat. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old Perini still cannot escape the outcome of having his result invalidated, while Australian athlete Eric Horrie, who was originally ranked fourth, fortunately won the bronze medal.

Horrie, who won silver medals at the London, Rio and Tokyo Olympics, said after the race that there are rules in the competition, and as athletes, they must abide by the rules. Benjamin Pritchard of the British team stood out in this competition and won the gold medal. He also emphasized the importance of strictly abiding by the competition rules.

The Italian Rowing Federation expressed dissatisfaction with this decision and filed an appeal, saying that it will provide the records of Perini's mobile phone to prove that he did not intentionally cheat. At present, the incident is still under further investigation and handling, and all parties are paying attention to the final result and the impact of this incident on the reputation of the Paralympics. This incident also serves as a wake-up call for all participating athletes. While pursuing honor, they must strictly abide by competition rules and sports ethics.