Paralympic marathon runner suffers heartbreak as she’s disqualified
- Elena Congost of Spain was disqualified two metres from the finish line
- The bronze medal was instead awarded to Misato Michishita of Japan
Paralympic marathon runner Elena Congost was left devastated after she was disqualified two metres from the finish line.
The Spanish T12/B2 track and field athlete suffers from a degenerative vision impairment and ran alongside guide Mia Carol Bruguera during the race.
Congost finished in third place in the T12 marathon event and also managed to record a personal best of 3:00:48.
However, the 36-year-old was disqualified as she let go of the rope, which is not permitted in paralympic rules.
Congost had let go in order to help Brugera, who had been struggling with cramp.
Paralympic marathon runner Elena Congost was disqualified two metres from the finish line
Congost had let go of the rope to help her guide Mia Carol Bruguera, who had been struggling with cramp
After Congost was disqualified, third place was awarded to Misato Michishita of Japan.
Rules state that all runners in the T12 marathon must be connected to their guide via a tether at all times.
Fatima El Idrissi of Morocco won the gold medal as she set a world record time of 2:48.36, while Meryem En-Nourhi secured silver.
The bronze medal was instead awarded to Misato Michishita of Japan (right)
Speaking to Marca, Congost admitted that she was left ‘devastated’ by the outcome.
She said: ‘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 disqualify me because 10 metres from the finish line I let go of the rope for a second because a person next to me fell face first to the ground and I grabbed the rope again and we crossed the finish line.
‘The next athlete is three minutes away from me, so it was a reflex action of any human being to hold on to a person who is falling next to you.’
