Becca Meyers: American deafblind Paralympian withdraws from Tokyo Games after request to bring her mother refused
Meyers wrote that her mother had acted as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) at all of her international meetings since 2017, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, the USOPC denied her request for her mother to serve in this title in Tokyo. She said the USOPC is providing just one PCA to help all 33 U.S. Paralympic swimmers, nine of whom are visually impaired.
âWith Covid, new security measures and limits for non-essential personnel are in place, and rightly so, but a trusted BCP is essential for me to be able to compete,â Meyers wrote.
“So in 2021, why as a person with a disability am I still fighting for my rights? I speak out for future generations of Paralympic athletes in the hope that they will never have to feel the pain I’ve been through. Enough is enough. “
CNN has contacted the USOPC for comment.
“It’s a scandal and a preventable situation that should never have happened to this point,” Hassan said. “I want the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to work immediately to resolve this issue, and I want them to make sure all of our athletes are able to compete safely at this summer’s games, including providing them with support base which they navigate the world. “
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