PARALYMPIC marathon runner Elena Congost was disqualified and denied a bronze medal due to after being disqualified just two metres from the finish line.
Congost, 36, is a Spanish T12/B2 track and field athlete who was born with a degenerative vision impairment and thus ran with guide Mia Carol Bruguera in Paris.
The athlete finished third in the T12 marathon event with a personal best of 3:00:48, but it counted for nothing.
That’s because Congost let go of the rope, which is not allowed within Paralympic rules, to help Bruguera who was dealing with a cramp just before snatching third place.
All runners in the T12 marathon must be connected to their guide via a tether at all times.
The runner was thus disqualified and the bronze medal went to Japanese star Misato Michishita.
Morocco‘s Fatima El Idrissi set a world record of 2:48.36 to win the gold medal and compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi finished second.
Congost expressed her displeasure shortly after learning about the decision.
The popular athlete doesn’t regret her actions as she insists she did the right thing by looking after a fellow human being.
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.
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“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.
“When there is no help, no benefit and when it is clear that I stop dead in my tracks because of that situation.
“But they only say that I let go of the rope for a second and since I let go, that’s it, there’s no going back .
“I don’t understand how anyone can reason or understand the situation, that it’s not about cheating, that it’s not about dragging an athlete.”
