A marathon runner at the Paralympics was brutally stripped of a bronze medal after making a crucial error just metres from the finish line. Visually impaired Spanish athlete Elena Congost briefly let go of her rope after her guide, Mia Carol-Bruguera, cramped up in the final stages of the race.
Officials later ruled that Congost broke the T12 regulations, which state that runners must be tethered to their guides at all times while racing. She was left in tears after the decision was read out, with Japanese athlete Misato Michishita moving ahead of her to claim the bronze medal.
After the race, an emotional Congost told Marca: “I would like everyone to know that I have not been disqualified for cheating, but rather I have been disqualified for being a person and for an instinct that comes to you when someone is falling and is to help or support them.
“I’m devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal. I’m super proud of everything I’ve done and in the end they disqualified me 10 metres from the finish line because I let the rope go for a second.
“It was a reflex act of any human, to hold on to a person who is falling next to you, but they say that I have let go of the rope for a second and since I have let it go, that’s it, there is no turning back. I don’t understand that.
“It’s not for cheating, it’s not for dragging down an athlete. I am left with nothing. I can’t find any explanation for it and it seems so unfair and so surreal, really.”
Carol-Bruguera, meanwhile, wrote on Instagram: “Right now, too many emotions and too many messages. I can only say that I am given an image of total commitment to each other. And of course, THANK YOU ELENA.”
Fatima El Idrissi of Morocco took the gold medal, setting a world-record time of 2:48.36 to claim the spoils in Paris. She was joined on the podium by compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi, who earned silver, with Michishita winning the bronze medal despite crossing the line in fourth.
The Paralympics concluded on Sunday evening, with Great British finishing second in the medal table behind leaders China. ParalympicsGB ended with a total of 124 medals, 49 of which were gold, as well as 44 silvers and 31 bronze medals.
