The Paris 2024 Paralympics is getting backlash for what’s seen by followers as an unmerited disqualification. Simply two metres from crossing the end line within the ladies’s T12 marathon on Sunday, five-time Spanish Paralympian Elena Congost was disqualified for momentarily letting go of her tether to help her information, Mia Carol Bruguera, who was visibly struggling to proceed operating. Paris officers dominated the Spaniard ineligible to say the bronze medal that was in any other case hers.
Bruguera, 57, cramped up close to the top of the race; his excessive discomfort was unmistakable because the pair approached the ultimate stretch of the occasion. Congost reached out to seize Bruguera’s arm simply moments earlier than crossing the road to maintain him from falling as he struggling to proceed transferring ahead–dropping her finish of the tether within the course of.
Congost was born with a degenerative imaginative and prescient impairment and competes within the T12 classification–runners within the T12 occasion should stay tethered to their information at some stage in their race. The foundations make no exceptions for these kinds of extenuating circumstances.
The 36-year-old took gold within the occasion at Rio 2016 and positioned second within the 1,500m at London 2012. She lately returned to competitors following the delivery of her fourth youngster.
“I would love everybody to know that I’ve not been disqualified for dishonest, however quite I’ve been disqualified for being an individual and for an intuition that involves you when somebody is falling,” Congost advised Marca. On Instagram, the Spanish athlete wrote that she has “no doubts or regrets”.
Fatima El Idrissi of Morocco took gold within the occasion and set a brand new world document of two:48.36, whereas teammate Meryem En-Nourhi completed second.If not disqualified, Congost would have additionally gone house with a brand new private better of three hours and 48 seconds–however was stripped of that achievement alongside along with her {hardware}. The bronze medal was as a substitute awarded to fourth-place finisher, Misato Michishita of Japan.