Background and experience
Jonas Christensen is a PhD fellow at the Department of Sport and Social Sciences with the project: The ethics of classification in dynamic wheelchair sports. His research is conducted within the European Union Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Training Network in Sport Ethics and Integrity (DAiSI), in partnership with KU Leuven and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF).
Jonas's project aims to develop an ethical framework that balances fairness and equality of opportunity with pragmatic competition needs in the three dynamic wheelchair sports on the Paralympic programme – wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis. The framework addresses the central research question: What is a fair and just classification system in these sports?
An answer to this question involves examining broader ethical challenges to Paralympic classification, the normative structure of sport itself, and how we understand ability/disability. Through this comprehensive approach, Jonas seeks to contribute to these fundamental topics within the philosophy of sport.
Jonas holds a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education and a Master's degree in Humanities and Social Sport Sciences from the University of Copenhagen. He brings valuable practical experience from working in the Paralympic movement, first as a national coach in goalball, and later as consultant for the National Paralympic Committee of Denmark with a special focus on talent development and high performance. In the latter role, he performed key organizational functions at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympic Games in close cooperation with Team Denmark and the Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF). His academic background and hands-on Paralympic experience provide a strong foundation for his current research on classification ethics.
Research
Para sport; Classification; Ethics; Philosophy of sport