The International Paralympic Athletics Federation has refused to award an exceptional bronze medal to the Spanish athlete Elena Congost, who came third in the marathon at the Paris Paralympic Games, category T12, but was disqualified for letting go of the rope that linked her to her guide, Mia Carol, when trying to help him when he was fainting.
This has been communicated to the Spanish Paralympic Committee, the body that requested this exceptional concession from World Para Athletics, arguing that sports regulations should not establish that disqualification occurs in those cases in which, without obtaining the slightest competitive advantage , the athlete is forced to momentarily release the ‘tether’ (rope) to assist or attend to her guide in a situation of justified assistance.
In its response, World Para Athletics refuses to award this exceptional bronze, although it states that it positively values the values of solidarity and sportsmanship demonstrated by Elena Congost.
Congost was disqualified on September 9 in the Paralympic Games marathon after releasing the rope that linked her to her guide for just a few seconds a few meters from the finish line. He did it to prevent his guide from falling to the ground as a result of fainting, and when he was more than three minutes ahead of the fourth classified, the Japanese Misato Michishita.
Section 7 of rule 9 of the ‘Rules & Regulations of World Para Athletics (WPA)’ was applied to the Barcelona athlete, which reflects the disqualification due to failure to comply with the obligation to be connected at all times to the athlete and her guide with rope, from the beginning of the test to the finish line.
The Spanish Paralympic Committee lodged a protest with the judges who made the decision, but once it was rejected, it was not appealed to World Para Athletics, considering that the disqualification is part of the so-called ‘field of play’ measures or decisions, which are not reviewable. except in a very limited type of cases that did not apply in the present case.
What was done was to request an exceptional bronze medal, apart from the one awarded to the Japanese, so that Congost would be recognized. It won’t be like that either.
The Spanish Paralympic Committee has expressed that it respects Congost’s right to take legal action for her requalification in the event, and makes itself available to the athlete.
Before learning of this decision, the Higher Sports Council, in the words of its president José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, already predicted that Congost would not lose his scholarship even if he was not awarded bronze, as has been the case.
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