Paralympics swimming gold medallists Ollie Hynd and Jonathan Fox have announced that they will not participate at the Commonwealth Games.
At the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, Hynd and Fox earned three golds between them and the pair had been hoping to continue their preparation for Tokyo by trying to win another medal on the Gold Coast.
However, as part of new International Paralympic Committee rules, the duo have been reclassified, leaving Hynd to focus on other competitions and Fox not illegible for any events in Australia.
Hynd is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "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. With this in mind, I have reluctantly withdrawn from the competition."
Fox said: "It's a real shame and I'm obviously extremely disappointed at not being able to take part in my first Commonwealth Games. The reclassification means there is no event at the Games for me to compete in. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more races for para-swimmers to take part in at multi-sport events so this doesn't happen again."
The Games get underway on April 4.
Darren Plant
