International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics announced today that 27 of the 177 scheduled events are currently not meeting the minimum eligibility criteria as of June 6, due to the population of athletes.

As a result the sport's governing body has urged national federations to ensure that all athletes are registered and licensed in order to provide an accurate data reflection for each proposed event.

Should the events continue to not meet the criteria, then in line with the Rio 2016 Event Replacement Policy, the events will be removed from the programme and a substitute added. 

The majority of events in danger of being replaced are on the women's side of competition with the shot put, 100m and 400m seeing a high number of classifications at risk
©Getty Images


"When we announced the initial Rio 2016 Medal Event Programme last August our aim was to create greater gender equality and a wider spectrum of events for all classes," said Ryan Montgomery., head of IPC Athletics.

"We still believe we can achieve this alongside the work of National Paralympic Committees.

"Currently though some events are in jeopardy of not making the programme due to the population of athletes.

"Before we make a final decision, we want to ensure that all athletes with the potential to compete at Rio 2016 are registered and licensed to ensure that we have the exact numbers because at the moment we do not think this is the case."

Of the 27 events currently not meeting the eligibility criteria, just six are men's events, while 21 are from the women's side of competition.

The majority of women's events currently not meeting these criteria sit within the shot put discipline while the 100 and 400m also have a number of classifications in danger of being removed or replaced.

For a full list of events at risk, click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
January 2014: Rio 2016 qualification guide released by International Paralympic Committee