Blaine Hunt, a Paralympic cyclist who competed at the recent Paris Games this summer, says that he feels sport still has plenty of work to do in order to improve on diversity and inclusion for Paralympians.
The topic made the headlines after Paralympic athletes were recently asked to wear their tracksuits to an event at Buckingham Palace in which they met King Charles, while Olympic athletes wore more formal clothing.
Several Paralympic athletes criticised the decision on social media, and said the difference in clothing further highlighted the continued disparity between Olympic and Paralympic athletes in their various sports.
Hunt told Cycling Weekly that he opted to wear a suit at the palace after missing a memo which made clear that it would be preferable for Paralympians to wear the “podium kit” that they wore in Paris. But the 35-year-old says the inclusion issue stretches way beyond clothing choices to a party.
"It’s not about the suit, it’s not about an invite to a party, it’s about inclusion," Hunt said. “This isn’t the first time things like this have happened and it won’t be the last.
"It's very difficult when there are two separate entities, Paralympics GB and Team GB, that are representing the nation at the Paralympics and Olympics. You would think we are all under the same umbrella but the reality is it's separate. There is some crossover but the two have separate partner brands, budgets and staff."
Despite Team GB having a partner formal wear provider, a spokesperson for Paralympics GB said that the team did not have a similar arrangement of its own in place.
"Paralympics GB chose not to have a formal wear supplier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games," the spokesperson said. "This decision was guided by environmental sustainability considerations and wider athlete feedback. Therefore, we asked athletes and staff to represent the team identity by wearing Paris 2024 kit at the Buckingham Palace reception."
Holding back the sport
Hunt said that he felt mainstream media coverage of the recent visit to meet the King had portrayed athletes as "disgruntled individuals", which was disappointing. As well as Paralympic athletes missing out on the opportunity to wear suits when meeting the royals, they were also largely side-lined from an event at Fortnum and Mason, a high-end department store in central London.
However, he was keen to underline that he felt there were plenty of other occasions in which sports, and in his case cycling, got it wrong when it comes to inclusion.
"As far as Fortum & Mason goes, if they were capped for numbers it could have been made a lucky draw for athletes across the board… rather than choosing to partner with one over another," he said. "There are simple remedies to be inclusive.
"Ultimately, it is a brand's reputation which is on the line and it's up to their PR and partner teams to decide how they proceed, and bear the consequences those decisions may bring."
Fortnum and Mason issued an apology for the snub and said a separate event for Paralympians was in the works.
Hunt added: "As a cyclist I personally reached out to Brompton asking about a Team GB edition Brompton. I didn't see any of those at the Paralympics but I saw plenty of them being ridden at the Olympics. As I see it, that is down to the brand not pushing for equality and to be involved with both entities."
He said that he felt the 2023 super-World Championships in Glasgow was an important catalyst for change. However, he still feels that plenty of other areas in cycling still need to catch up in order to achieve parity between able-bodied and para athletes.
"It shouldn't come down to a Paralympics every four years to give these amazing athletes a platform to show what they can do," he explained.
"The Track Champions League that's about to kick off has no representation of para-athletes. I for one feel I could hold my own and give some of them a run for their money but as a para-athlete I don't have that opportunity and it's a real shame that this barrier exists.
"We are holding back the sport by not giving it the exposure and equality it deserves."
Brompton Bicycles, the Track Champions League and Fortnum and Mason were all contacted for comment in relation to this article.
