Little-known tattoo rule that saw Paralympic athlete disqualified from race

Anyone who’s been glued to the Olympics will know there are a number of strange rules that athletes have to remember, both in and out of the arena.

After all, we all know what happened to the Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira, who was sent home after leaving the Olympic village with her boyfriend without permission – a huge no-no, it turns out.

But it’s not just the Olympics where athletes have to be careful – as swimmer Josef Craig found out a few years back when he was disqualified for an arguably pretty annoying reason.

It was May 2016 when the Paralympian found himself competing in the IPC European Championships in Madeira.

The 19-year-old Brit had won his heat in the men’s S8 100m freestyle, but was sadly disqualified before the final.

Josef Craig (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It was all down to one thing Craig failed to do – or rather, something he failed to cover up.

He has a tattoo of the Olympic rings and Team GB lion’s head on the left side of his chest, which he’d had covered for the S8 400m freestyle heats.

However, he was disqualified before getting to the final of the S8 100m after leaving it exposed.

Athletes are usually allowed to have tattoos for various sporting events - which is good news for the likes of Adam Peaty, who is famous for the elaborate artwork across his body, from the huge lion on his left shoulder to the subtle ‘H’ on his chest as a nod to girlfriend Holly Ramsay.

However, Craig, now retired at 27, had breached official regulations relating to advertising, with an International Paralympic Committee spokesman explaining at the time in a statement: "Body advertising is not allowed in any way whatsoever and that includes the Olympic rings. The athlete did not wear a cover and was therefore disqualified.

"All teams are informed of the advertising policy at a technical meeting prior to competition so it wasn't as if they had not been reminded about the rules."

While his time in that particular championships came to an unfortunate early end, Craig did land himself two gold medals previously at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London - also setting two records at the age of 15 - and landed bronze at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

He's thankfully won medals in other competitions, like the Paralympics (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

And two years after that untimely disqualification, Craig – who has cerebral palsy – announced his retirement from the sport, saying he planned to move into coaching.

"It's time for a new challenge,” he said, saying of his new career move: "To be able to help individuals gain an important life skill and also go on to achieve will be really rewarding."

Referencing how, in the run-up to the Rio Games in 2016 - where he won a bronze medal in the men’s 100m freestyle S8 - he suffered with anxiety, bipolar and depression, Craig added: “I went through a lot and for a long time, I now want to use the platform and influence I have to help those facing mental issues.

"I want to use my journey as evidence that it is possible to turn things around no matter how bad a situation may appear."