Spanish para-athlete makes legal bid to overturn Paris Olympic disqualification

Disqualified during the Paris Paralympic marathon in September, visually impaired athlete Elena Congost from Spain has taken legal action in France to recover her bronze medal and her pride.

On 8 September, Spanish marathon runner Elena Congost was disqualified for having let go the rope which connected her to her guide, just two meters from the finish line.

The 37-year-old had been running alongside her guide, Mia Carol, as required by Paralympic rules, which state that visually impaired athletes in the T12 category must remain tethered to their guides throughout the race.

Unfortunately, in the final stretch, Congost briefly let go of the rope to assist Carol, who was struggling with cramps – a gesture that led to her disqualification.

Although Congost finished third with a personal best 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.

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.

"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," Congost said the time.

French organisers revel in success of 'benchmark' Paris Paralympics

Scholarship granted

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

(With newswires)

Read more on RFI English

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