It was one of the lowest acts committed on an Australian sporting field when a team of Spanish basketballers conned their way to a gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics.
Key points:
- Former Australian Paralympians say they still feel angry at the cheating that robbed them of a chance to compete for years
- Former president of the Spanish Federation of Sports for the Intellectually Disabled has been found guilty of fraud
- Athletes want others to learn from the incident, saying it can happen again
Through a brazen conspiracy that took years to fully resolve, able-bodied team members posed as athletes with an intellectually disability (ID) to win.
The fraud resulted in a controversial worldwide ban on intellectually disabled Paralympic sports for more than a decade, ending many promising careers and leaving athletes “lost and depressed”.
Some administrators believed it was a harsh but necessary move to tighten regulations, while others claimed it was an overreaction that the sport was still recovering from.
Twenty years later, the Australians caught in the fallout, including the basketballers who went toe to toe with the Spanish team, have never forgotten how their lives were changed by this ultimate deceit.
‘A free trip to Australia’
The Sydney 2000 Paralympics is a bittersweet memory for retired Boomerang basketballer Bradley Lee.
The former co-captain can still remember the emotional highs of playing in front of stadiums filled with passionate Australian supporters.
But his recollections turn dark when he thinks about what was really going on behind the scenes.
Spain had stacked its team with 10 out of 12 able-bodied players.
The fraud was exposed in the aftermath of the games by one of Spain’s players Carlos Ribagorda, a journalist who said he joined the team to boost his country’s chances.
“I think people saw it as a free trip to Australia. There was even some pride at wearing the Spanish team strip,” he told The Guardian in 2004.
He said the only test he had been asked to complete at his first training session was six press-ups, after which his blood pressure was taken.
The revelation made headlines around the world and sent shock waves through the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Athletes with intellectual disability were banned from Paralympic competition for the next 12 years and the eligibility and testing protocols were overhauled.
“I wanted to gut them with a butter knife, putting it bluntly, they’re just a bunch of lowlifes,” Mr Lee said.
He said the incident had a profound effect on athletes with an intellectual disability
‘I still live with depression’
Riding a wave of national enthusiasm following the Olympics weeks earlier, the Boomerangs were confident of a top placing.
But after meeting Spain in the earlier rounds, coach Tony Guihot said many felt that the playing field was not fair.
Mr Lee said the Spanish team “flogged” them.
“They blew everyone off the court,” he said.
“I suspected it, but I didn’t voice it. I thought ‘bloody hell’ … it was a totally different team.”
Swimmer Siobhan Paton was one of Australia’s top performers at the games, winning six medals.
The teenager continued to train for the next four years in the hope of competing at Athens.
After being told she could not complete, she spiralled into a depression that has lingered for the better part of two decades.
“I ended up in hospital for six weeks, I was dejected, angry … I still live with my depression,” she said.
While the period is among the darkest of her life, she said it was an important reminder of the harm cheating could cause.
“It could happen again if people are not careful, and they need to know it hurts,” she said.
Heartbreaking decision
For years, Sports Inclusion Australia chief executive Robyn Smith lobbied for better inclusion of ID sports.
She felt the Sydney games had set a new standard; it was the first time medalled events were included in the schedule and Australian athletes rose to the challenge.
Telling these sportspeople that they could no longer compete at the highest level was devastating.
“I had many of our top-level athletes ringing saying, ‘I didn’t cheat, I don’t understand,'” she said.
“That was heartbreaking, to go from being heroes to then being kicked out of the movement.”
She said it left many feeling lost.
“I understand that the IPC needed to clear the air and ensure the eligibility system was robust, but it took a long time and a lot of excellent athletes missed out,” she said.
It was not until 2013, when the full extent of the corruption was found to stem from one of Spain’s leading sporting administrators — Fernando Martin Vicente.
In a Madrid court, the former president of the Spanish Federation of Sports for the Intellectually Disabled was found guilty of fraud and fined $7,766.
A total of 18 people were charged as a result of an investigation.
Rise of the Global Games
Despite their disappointment, the Australian ID movement pushed ahead and continued to have funding support from a host of national sporting bodies.
Avenues for elite competition still existed through the Global Games, an event dedicated to athletes with an intellectually disability since 1986.
In 2004, the Global Games once again became a peak sporting event for these athletes, although they did not receive the same attention as the Paralympics.
“It was clear that they were an excellent way to go forward,” Ms Smith said.
The Global Games is now the world’s largest event of its kind, with thousands of participants.
After years in the wilderness, a handful of ID athletes were welcomed back at the London 2012 games.
While the changes were too late for Ms Paton, she has chosen to focus on her medal-winning performances, rather than the cheats who ended her Paralympic career.
“I feel very proud of my medals today, it took a lot of patience and support,” she said.
