Refereeing error almost costs amputee swimmer a medal after mistaken disqualification. GETTY IMAGES

Confusion at the Paralympic Games almost cost Australian amputee swimmer Ahmed Kelly a medal at Paris 2024 after a misinterpretation of little-known rules led to his disqualification. An appeal by Swimming Australia led to a review, which allowed him to progress to the final, where he won silver.

An unusual incident marked Sunday's action at the 17th Paralympic Games when Ahmed Kelly, who was born and raised in an orphanage in Baghdad, Iraq, but is competing for Australia, was wrongly disqualified from the 150m SM3 individual medley.

Kelly, who has no arms below the elbow and no legs, was accused of performing a butterfly stroke instead of a freestyle stroke in the final stages of the race.

Officials made the decision to disqualify him after the race, which caused a stir as such a move is not generally banned.

Swimming Australia quickly appealed, arguing that a little-known rule had been overlooked. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Kelly would be reinstated and allowed to compete in the final.

The confusion arose from a lack of knowledge or misinterpretation of the rule and what the swimmer had actually done, as the definition of freestyle allows swimmers to perform any stroke as long as it is not backstroke or breaststroke.

Silver medalist, Ahmed Kelly and Bronze medalist, Grant Patterson of Team Australia. GETTY IMAGES
Silver medalist, Ahmed Kelly and Bronze medalist, Grant Patterson of Team Australia. GETTY IMAGES

Footage of the event clearly shows Kelly swimming the first leg of the race in the backstroke, the second in the breaststroke and the third in a double arm butterfly, which is perfectly legal in the freestyle portion of the event.

This incident highlights the importance of accurate rule interpretation in high profile competitions such as the Paralympic Games, a situation which was fortunately resolved thanks to the swift intervention and appeal of Swimming Australia.

After the incident, the final of the men’s 150-metre SM3 individual medley took place, with German swimmer Josia Topf emerging as the champion and gold medalist with a time of 3:00.16.



The silver medal went to Kelly of Australia, who clocked a time of 3:02.16 and could have been watching from the stands due to a referee’s error beyond his control. His compatriot Grant Patterson won bronze with a time of 3:06.94.

In fourth place was Brazil’s dos Santos Araujo, with a time of 3:14.02, setting a new world record (WR). A. Castorena of Mexico finished fifth with a time of 3:15.47, followed by U. Ünlü of Turkey, who finished sixth with a time of 3:18.00.

Mexican swimmer M. Zarate took seventh place with a time of 3:19.31. Unfortunately, Spanish swimmer D. Ferrer Robles was disqualified (DSQ) and did not complete the race.