Paralympic rower Giacomo Perini has been accused of cheating and stripped of his bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Games, allegedly due to one small and easily avoidable mistake
The Italian athlete, 28, allegedly used an illegal device during the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls event, which is against the rules and disqualified him from the event.
What was the device? According to officials, Perini forgot to remove his cell phone from his boat ahead of the race, costing him his victory.
“In the final of the PR1 M1x, the ITA PR1 MRX was found to be using communications equipment during the race, in breach of Rule 28 and Appendix R2, Bye-Law to Rule 28,” World Rowing said in a statement via Instagram on Sunday, September 1. “As a result, the crew has been excluded from the event and will be ranked last.”
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In response, the Italian Rowing Federation released a statement, which was translated to English.
“After a historic and highly competitive competition, ending with an exciting third place and a bronze medal, while everyone was celebrating the achievement, the Jury was excluded from the Paralympic podium of the PR1 single for this reason,” the statement read, before going on to explain that Perini neglected to remove his phone from his boat ahead of the race.
Giacomo Perini Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images
“The Federation is proceeding with an official claim, providing the records of Perini’s phone, who is solely responsible for having forgotten it on the boat,” the statement concluded. “We will shortly provide news of the outcome of the appeal.”
In a separate statement to their website translated to English, the Italian Rowing Federation noted that the judge “noticed the presence of the smartphone” after the race. The organization further explained that Perini “had inadvertently forgotten to put down.”
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“The exclusion occurred based on the regulation that prohibits the presence on the boat of instruments capable of communicating with the outside,” the statement continued. “The Italian Rowing Federation promptly presented an appeal that was rejected by the Board of Jury, and is now preparing to challenge the decision by arguing to the Executive Board of World Rowing.”
Following the events, Australian rower Erik Horrie moved to third place, earning the bronze medal. Roman Polianskyi of Ukraine took home the silver medal, while Team Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard won gold.
“There was a situation that happened,” Horrie told Nine. “World Rowing and Paralympics officials saw it and then made the decision [to disqualify Perini] and I was lucky enough to come away with the bronze.”
He continued, “That’s all I can say really. It’s the joys of sport. There are rules, and as athletes, we stick to them.”