Marathoner Stripped of Paralympic Medal After Helping Her Guide Who Cramped at Finish Line: ‘Devastated’

Elena Congost said it "seems so unfair" that she was disqualified after finishing in third place

Marathoner Elena Congost is "devastated" after she was stripped of her medal at the 2024 Paralympics.

The Spanish athlete, 36, — who is visually impaired — violated the Games rules when she momentarily let go of the rope tethered to her guide, Mia Carol, just before the finish line during the race on Sunday, Sept. 8 in Paris.

According to multiple reports, including the New York Times and the Independent, Carol suffered a cramp at the end of the race, which led Congost to let go of the rope in an attempt to help her guide.

Congost, who has a degenerative hereditary eye disease, finished the race in third place, but was disqualified by officials because runners in the T12 event — for athletes with visual impairments — must be tethered to their guide for the entirety of the race.

Related: See 16 Incredible Photos from the 2024 Paris Paralympics

After she learned of her disqualification, Congost was in tears, and the medal was awarded to Misato Michishita of Japan.

Congost spoke to Marca after the race, telling the outlet she is "devastated."

“I’m devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal,” said Congost, adding, "It was a reflex act of any human, to hold on to a person who is falling next to you."

Congost told Marca, "But they say that I have let go of the rope for a second and since I have let it go, that’s it, there is no turning back. I don’t understand that."

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The marathoner said she is "super proud of everything" she's done leading up to the Games, "and in the end they disqualified me because 10 meters from the finish line because I let the rope go for a second."

“It’s not for cheating, it’s not for dragging down an athlete. I am left with nothing. I can’t find any explanation for it and it seems so unfair and so surreal, really," Congost concluded.

Fatima El Idrissi of Morocco won gold in the race and set a world record in the process, while Meryem En-Nourhi, also of Morocco, took silver.

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