Paralympian disqualified from medal due to error just two metres from finish line

'I have not been disqualified for cheating, but for being a person, for helping someone'

Spanish marathon runner Elena Congost, who was born with degenerative vision impairment, finished third in the women's T12 marathon event at Paris 2024, clocking a personal best record of 3:00:48.

However, she was denied a bronze medal after being disqualified.

This was because she let go of the rope of her guide, Mia Carol, as he struggled with cramp on the home straight, just metres from the finish line.

Paralympic rules state all runners in the T12 marathon event must be connected to their guide via a tether. Failure to do so will see runners disqualified.

So, the bronze medal went to Japan's Misato Michishita instead, Metro reports.

Speaking after the race, a devastated Congost told Marca: "It's unfair, surreal.

"The next athlete was three minutes behind me. It was just a reflex action that any human being would have done – holding on to someone who is falling.

"But that doesn’t mean that there is any kind of benefit or help. In fact, it is clear that I stop dead."

She continued: ""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

"I have not been disqualified for cheating, but for being a person, for helping someone.

"I'm devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal."

The gold medal went to Fatima El Idrissi, with the Moroccan setting a world record time of 2:48.36. It was a one-two for the African nation, as Meryem En-Nourhi took home the silver.