Spanish Paralympian’s mistake costs bronze medal, 2 metres from finish line

Spanish Paralympic marathoner Elena Congost saw her bronze medal hopes dashed just two meters from the finish line at the Paris 2024 Games.

Despite achieving a personal best time of 3:00:48 in the T12 marathon event, a small but costly mistake led to her disqualification, and the medal was instead awarded to Japan’s Misato Michishita.

Congost, aged 36, 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 – a gesture of compassion that led to her disqualification under Rule 9.7.5. The rule strictly mandates that athletes stay connected to their guide, with no exceptions.

Elena Congost’s heartbreaking error

Reflecting on the incident, a devastated Congost expressed her disbelief: “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.” She added, “I have not been disqualified for cheating, but for being a person, for helping someone.”

While the technicality cost her the bronze, Congost’s story has drawn widespread attention and sympathy, particularly from those who understand the emotional and physical demands of Paralympic competition. Her loss is all the more poignant considering her recent struggles, including losing her scholarship. “I’m not going to get one now. They will leave me out of everything again when I have shown everything I can do”.

Congost’s disqualification comes in the shadow of Morocco’s dominance in the event, with Fatima El Idrissi setting a new world record of 2:48:36 to claim the gold, followed closely by her compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi, who took silver. Meanwhile, in the men’s T12 marathon, Wajdi Boukhili of Tunisia triumphed, and Switzerland’s Marcel Hug captured his fourth medal of the Games by winning gold in the men’s T54 marathon.

While the official results of Paris 2024 may not list Elena Congost as a medallist, her resilience, sportsmanship, and the compassion she showed during those final metres of the race will not be forgotten.

Many within the Paralympic community and beyond are calling for a review of the stringent rules governing such situations, hoping to see more flexibility for moments of humanity in future competitions.

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