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Becca Meyers, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist, announced on Tuesday that she was retiring from the Tokyo Games.
Meyers, who won three gold medals at the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016, accused the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) of denying him essential accommodation due to his disability. The 26-year-old suffers from Usher syndrome, which has left her blind. She is also deaf from birth.
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Usher syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes deafness “due to an impairment in the ability of the inner ear and auditory nerves to transmit sensory (sound) signals to the brain (sensory hearing loss) accompanied by ‘retinitis pigmentosa, a disorder that affects the retina and causes progressive loss of vision,’ according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.
Meyers said she had “no choice but to make the” heartbreaking decision “to step down.
“I am angry, I am disappointed, but above all, I am sad not to represent my country,” she said in a statement.
A COMPOSER AT THE OLYMPICS AFTER BULLYING CHILDREN FROM HIS CLASS CAMES, INCLUDING MENTALLY DISABLED CHILDREN, RESURFACE
“USOPC denied me a reasonable and essential accommodation for me, as a deafblind athlete, to be able to compete in Toyko, repeatedly telling me that I don’t need a personal care assistant (PCA) “I trust” because there will be a single PCA on staff who is available to help me and 33 other Paralympic swimmers, 9 of whom are also visually impaired. USOPC approved me to have a Trusted PCA (my mom) at all international competitions since 2017, but this time It’s different With COVID, there are new security measures and non-essential personnel limits in place, rightly so, but a PCA trust is essential for me to compete.
“So in 2021, why as a person with a disability am I still fighting for my rights? I speak out for future generations of Paralympic athletes in the hope that they will never have to feel the pain I’ve been through. Enough is enough. “
Meyers claimed victories in the 400-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter medley in Rio de Janeiro.
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The USOPC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
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