by Disqualified during the Paris Paralympic marathon in September, visually impaired Spanish athlete Elena Congost took legal action in France to recover her bronze medal and her pride.
On September 8, Spanish marathon runner Elena Congost was disqualified for letting go of the rope connecting her to her guide, just two meters from the finish line.
The 37-year-old was running alongside her guide, Mia Carol, as required by Paralympic regulations, which state that visually impaired athletes in the T12 category must remain attached to their guides throughout the race.
Unfortunately, in the final stretch, Congost briefly let go of the rope to help Carol, who was suffering from cramps – a move that led to her disqualification.
Although Congost finished third in a personal best time of 3:00:48, it could not be counted.
The bronze medal was finally awarded to the Japanese Misato Michishita, arriving more than three minutes after the Rio 2016 Paralympic champion.
Moroccan Fatima El Idrissi set a world record in 2:48.36 to win the gold medal and her compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi finished second.
“It’s unfair, surreal. The next athlete was three minutes behind me. It was just a reflex that any human being would have done: to hold on to someone who was falling,” Congost told the ‘era.
French organizers rejoice at the success of the “reference” Paris Paralympic Games
Scholarship awarded
“I wasn’t disqualified for cheating, but for being a person, for helping someone.”
(With the press wires)
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