THE father of a promising Winsford athlete is wandering what happened to the Olympic legacy – after disability swimming changes effectively excluded his son from competition.

Middlewich High School pupil, Adam Blackburn, has Asperger’s syndrome and difficulties with his co-ordination.

Until a year ago, the 16-year-old Winsford Amateur Swimming Club member could compete at galas in the S17 category – introduced for swimmers with Developmental Coordination Disorder, or dyspraxia.

But the bodies in charge of administering regional competitive swimming – British Swimming and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) – have dropped the category in line with International Paralympic Committee (IPC) classifications, leaving Adam in limbo between able-bodied events and a disability category he’s not suitable for.

“They won’t have S17 anymore because they see it as hard to police,” explained father, Craig.

“Adam doesn’t swim fast enough for able bodied galas. He went to one and some of the teenage lads picked on him because he was different.

“He has problems racing tactically. If it’s a long distance, he will try to cover the whole race at full speed.”

Craig approached the Make a Wish Foundation, who paid the £1,500 needed to test whether Adam could fit the IPC’s S14 category, but he narrowly missed the required IQ score.

While his friends from the Lifestyle Centre regularly compete in galas, Adam’s now lucky if he can find half a dozen events a year.

But when he does, his quality shines through – recently scooping ten medals at an East Midlands gala that bucked the trend and offered an S17 category.

Craig added: “Galas last all day. Is it really going to take all that long to run an extra race for S17?

“The rule makers here just don’t seem to care. You talk to them and they’ll just say they’re playing by the IPC’s rules.

“They only seem interested if there’s the possibility of a medal at the end of it all. But Adam doesn’t want to go the Olympics; he just wants to swim.

“There was supposed to be this culture of inclusivity after the Olympics, but Adam and swimmers like him are being excluded.”