When the users of the Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Lisboa arrived at the 25 de Abril Bridge, this Sunday morning, to participate in the Lisbon Mini Marathon, they never thought that the biggest obstacle would be another: the specific wheelchairs for the race never left the vans and the participants -registered and with bib numbers- could not participate on behalf of the organization, Maratona Clube Portugal, and by the Public Security Police, who were called to intervene. Complaints began to emerge shortly after the episode, in posts by various athletes on social media. This Monday morning, on Rádio Observador, the confirmation of the president of the Lisbon Cerebral Palsy Association arrived.
The nearly 20 associates, some of them debutants, were prevented by the race director from receiving sports wheelchairs —and therefore from participating— on the pretext that there were no safety conditions. to do it. Information that arrived there, with the para-athletes already ready, and that was not present in the regulations. In fact, all of these participants were able to register and raise their bibs. For Rádio Observador, the president of the Cerebral Palsy Association, Ivone Silva, guaranteed surprise: “We had no indication. The participants signed up, they naturally attended the race and were surprised, even for having participated for several years”.
One of the complaints made by the Iron Brothers page, by the brothers Pedro and Miguel Pinto, which shows disabled athletes, waiting, without participating.
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Source: Observadora
