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The Fake Paralympians

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The cheats who won gold and left a devastating legacy for learning disability sport

The cheats who won gold and left a devastating legacy for learning disability sport.

British swimmer Dan Pepper says he was destroyed by the ban on intellectual impairment sports at the Paralympics – it ruined his career. The ban was imposed after Spain won basketball gold at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics with a squad of 12 in which - it later emerged - only two players were genuinely disabled. In The Fake Paralympians, Dan sets out to find the truth about what happened and its devastating impact on learning disability sport.

Image credit: EPA

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The Fake Paralympians: 4. Probe

07/09/2021 GMT

4. Probe

BBC World Service - The Fake Paralympians, 4. Probe

An investigation into whether the cheating went wider has shocking consequences

An investigation into whether the cheating at the Sydney Paralympics went wider has shocking consequences.

There are allegations the cheating went wider within intellectual disability sport, and that it wasn’t just the gold-winning Spanish basketball team. An investigator for the International Paralympic Committee reveals what he found, and discusses specific accusations he heard about another of the basketball teams.

The probe has shocking consequences for intellectual disability sport: a total ban from the Paralympic Games. Dan has a heart-to-heart with his mum and dad about the impact on his budding swimming career.

And Dan speaks to the man who was in charge of the International Paralympic Committee when it took the decision that has overshadowed Dan’s life ever since.

Presenter: Dan Pepper
Series Producer: Simon Maybin

(Photo credit: EPA)

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