The gold medal winning Spanish paralympic basketball team were ordered yesterday to return their medals after it was discovered most of them had no disability. An inquiry found that ten of the 12-strong squad did not suffer from any handicap and the Spanish Paralympic Committee confirmed that the medals would be returned. Fernando Martin Vicente, vice-president of the committee and president of the Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports, has already resigned over the scandal.
One of the squad members had revealed that he and his colleagues were not subject to any tests to verify their eligibility to line out for Spain in the intellectual disability tournament. Although Spain beat Russia in the final, it has not yet been confirmed if the medals will be passed on to the runners-up. Spain enjoyed their greatest ever success at the Sydney Paralympics, finishing third in the medals table.
Filed by Seán Folan
