‘GUT-WRENCHING’

Paralympic Gold Medalist Drops Out of Tokyo After Being Denied Personal Care Assistant

“So, in 2020, why as a disabled person am I still fighting for my rights?” Meyers wrote.

Becca Meyers, a 26-year-old three-time Paralympic gold medalist, dropped out of the Tokyo Summer Olympics on Tuesday after the U.S. Paralympic Committee denied her request for a Personal Care Assistant to accompany her to the games. Meyers, who is deaf and blind, wrote on Instagram, “I’ve had to make the gut-wrenching decision to withdraw from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. I’m angry, I’m disappointed, but most of all, I’m sad not to be representing my country.” Meyers said the USOPC denied her request for a Personal Care Assistant, her mother, due to coronavirus restrictions, saying that there would be one aide to assist nearly three dozen swimmers. “So, in 2020, why as a disabled person am I still fighting for my rights?” Meyers wrote. The USOPC said in a statement, “There remain no exceptions to late additions to our delegation list other than the athletes and essential operational personnel per the organizing committee and the government of Japan.”