Ollie Hynd devastated following IPC re-classification

It means Hynd, who has won European, world and Commonwealth titles, will now swim against less-impaired swimmers.

He will now be moved from the S8 class, which he has been in since 2011 when he made his international debut, to the S9 class.

Hynd said: “I’m heartbroken and confused at this week’s reclassification. Whilst I appreciate that para-sport classification is difficult, it is clear that there are winners and losers to the new processes.

“Over the next few weeks, both myself and the great team around me will be focusing on the performance framework that will give continued success to Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

“Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their amazing support to this point in my swimming career and let’s look forward now to the challenge ahead.”

The IPC rules require all para-swimmers to undergo international classification before the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.

The testing involved assessments both in and out of the water, plus analysis during competition racing.

Hynd, who has a degenerative muscular condition, won gold in the SM8 200m individual medley at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics and also won the the S8 400m freestyle two years ago in Rio.

His best times from 2017 in his two strongest events would put him third and fourth respectively in the S9 rankings for last year.