Three-time Paralympic swimming champion Ollie Hynd has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games.
The Nottinghamshire athlete had been due to compete for England at next month’s competition in Australia, but has pulled out after his classification was changed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Hynd, 23, was moved from class S8 to S9 by the committee after an assessment.
He had competed at S8 since his debut in 2011, and said at the time the decision had left him “heartbroken”.
The IPC assesses athlete’s abilities and puts them into classification groups for competition, based on their disabilities.
The reclassification was part of new IPC rules that require all para-swimmers to undergo international classification before the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.
Hynd, who has a degenerative muscular condition, said: “My recent re-classification in my main swimming events from S8 to S9 has come as huge shock to me, having not previously been near to an S9 classification in all my years of competing.
“This very difficult news has taken an unbelievable toll on my training and mindset for the Commonwealth Games. With this in mind, I have reluctantly withdrawn from the competition and will not fly out to Australia.
“I would like to wish Team England and the rest of the Commonwealth Countries participating at the Gold Coast, all the very best of luck.”
The Commonwealth Games opening ceremony takes place on 4 April, with the swimming taking place in the Optus Aquatic Centre from 5-10 April 2018.
Hynd, who is from Sutton in Ashfield, will now focus on this summer’s European Championships and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Swim England said.
He won the 200 metres individual medley in the S8 event at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. He also won the 400m individual medley at Rio 2016.
