HomeWorldOlympicsSpanish paralympian Elena Congost disqualified for letting go of her guide’s rope two meters from the finish line in order to help him
Spanish paralympian Elena Congost disqualified for letting go of her guide’s rope two meters from the finish line in order to help him
September 8, 2024
Spanish paralympian Elena Congost disqualified for letting go of her guide’s rope two meters from the finish line in order to help him
Posted by MadamPechuga
12 comments
**Dramatic disqualification of Elena Congost after winning bronze**
The rope that tied her to her guide came loose one meter from the finish line when she tried to help him because he was falling due to cramps.
It is the image of the day, one that leaves a bitter taste to the Spanish delegation in the Paralympic Games despite the 40 medals in Paris: the disqualification of Elena Congost after winning bronze in the marathon because the rope with her guide came loose when, 10 meters from the finish line, she tried to help him because he was falling down due to cramps after running the 42.195 kilometers. The next athlete was more than three and a half minutes behind.
Mia Carol, her guide, arrived cramped in the last two meters of the finish line and had to be pulled by Elena herself, who was practically unable to walk. But according to article 7.9 of the rules, guide and athlete cannot let go of each other at any time.
“I would like everyone to know that I have not been disqualified for cheating, but I have been disqualified for being a person and for an instinct that comes to you when someone is falling, which is to help them or support them,” said Congost in tears upon learning of the disqualification because the rope came loose when she went to help her guide.
“I’m devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal. I’m super proud of everything I’ve done and in the end they disqualify me because 10 meters from the finish line I let go of the rope for a second because a person next to me was falling down and I take the rope again and we cross the finish line,” she explains.
“The next athlete was three minutes behind me, so it was a knee-jerk reaction of any human, to hold on to a person next to you who is falling. There is no advantage of any kind, no benefit of any kind, and you can clearly see that I stop dead in my tracks because of that situation. But they only say that I let go of the rope for a second and since I let go, that’s it, there’s no turning back. I don’t understand that nobody can think or understand the situation, that it’s not about cheating, that it’s not about dragging an athlete,” she said helplessly.
And she remembered that, having been disqualified, she will not get a grant. “I am left with nothing. I can’t find any explanation and it seems so unfair and surreal to me. It is sad because I also came without any funding and being in the lurch. It was one of my goals, to get a grant again and to be in the ADOP [Paralympic Sport Support] Programme. I will be left out of everything again when I think I have shown what I could do,” she lamented.
Congost, gold medalist in the marathon at the Rio Games and silver medalist in the 1,500 meters at London 2012, was returning to the Games after eight years of maternity leave, during which she has been the mother of four children in the last six years. During this time she has been away from competition to take care of Arlet (6 years old), Abril (4), Ona (3) and Lluc (1).
It was her husband who asked her to come back when the little one was born. There was little more than a year left for Paris and it seemed impossible, but she is stubborn and set her sights on it. She began to prepare, playing a game of Tetris to be able to combine motherhood with training. In just five months, she achieved the minimum standard for the Games in the Seville marathon. And today, except for that finale in which, in addition to the guide not helping her, she had enough of a gap with the Japanese Misato Michishita so as not to have to speed up, her medal would have been the prize for a personal bet that began as a madness and that could have ended on the podium.
10 meters from the line she gets dg’ed. Come on that’s just silly.
This truly seems unfair, especially since the next closest finisher was over 3 minutes behind.
I imagine this will be appealed to the CAS. Interesting to see what they will rule.
Rules are rules but common sense needs to prevail.
Very easy to be so hard with unknown athletes.
A big name do this and they probably even make him / her a statue.
Common sense should always be above rules.
Shame on them!
Heartbreaking. This has to be overturned, she clearly wasn’t cheating and she handily had bronze with someone 3 minutes behind her. I understand the rules are there for a reason but there are certain rare circumstances where the rules shouldn’t necessarily apply and I think this definitely fits the bill. I bet the guide feels absolutely awful too. I feel so sorry for both of them, hopefully there’s a way to appeal and they can get the medal they earned.
I understand rules are rules but this is just wrong.
What a disgusting heartless decision, the kind of thing that makes people hate sports organisations.
This is bullshit. Upholding rules is one thing but displaying stubbornness in situations like this is antithetical to the spirit of the games. Giving her the medal she won and deserves won’t weaken their institutions.
Similar story a week ago Jayrd Clifford, an Australian man, was disqualfied in the 5000-meter T13 for untethering a metre or so short of the line.
He also would have won bronze.
I get it that they don’t want blind athletes sprinting away from guides, taking a risk for potential advantage, but I feel like there has to be some change to the system.
Maybe a percentage time penalty for an infraction rather than an outright disqualification. That wouldn’t turn it into a viable strategy to win a tight race but it would erase most of these heartbreaking situations.
That is really wrong. I am sorry but rules should have some exceptions based on circumstances and intentions…. otherwise they are plain wrong.
12 comments
**Dramatic disqualification of Elena Congost after winning bronze**
The rope that tied her to her guide came loose one meter from the finish line when she tried to help him because he was falling due to cramps.
It is the image of the day, one that leaves a bitter taste to the Spanish delegation in the Paralympic Games despite the 40 medals in Paris: the disqualification of Elena Congost after winning bronze in the marathon because the rope with her guide came loose when, 10 meters from the finish line, she tried to help him because he was falling down due to cramps after running the 42.195 kilometers. The next athlete was more than three and a half minutes behind.
Mia Carol, her guide, arrived cramped in the last two meters of the finish line and had to be pulled by Elena herself, who was practically unable to walk. But according to article 7.9 of the rules, guide and athlete cannot let go of each other at any time.
“I would like everyone to know that I have not been disqualified for cheating, but I have been disqualified for being a person and for an instinct that comes to you when someone is falling, which is to help them or support them,” said Congost in tears upon learning of the disqualification because the rope came loose when she went to help her guide.
“I’m devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal. I’m super proud of everything I’ve done and in the end they disqualify me because 10 meters from the finish line I let go of the rope for a second because a person next to me was falling down and I take the rope again and we cross the finish line,” she explains.
“The next athlete was three minutes behind me, so it was a knee-jerk reaction of any human, to hold on to a person next to you who is falling. There is no advantage of any kind, no benefit of any kind, and you can clearly see that I stop dead in my tracks because of that situation. But they only say that I let go of the rope for a second and since I let go, that’s it, there’s no turning back. I don’t understand that nobody can think or understand the situation, that it’s not about cheating, that it’s not about dragging an athlete,” she said helplessly.
And she remembered that, having been disqualified, she will not get a grant. “I am left with nothing. I can’t find any explanation and it seems so unfair and surreal to me. It is sad because I also came without any funding and being in the lurch. It was one of my goals, to get a grant again and to be in the ADOP [Paralympic Sport Support] Programme. I will be left out of everything again when I think I have shown what I could do,” she lamented.
Congost, gold medalist in the marathon at the Rio Games and silver medalist in the 1,500 meters at London 2012, was returning to the Games after eight years of maternity leave, during which she has been the mother of four children in the last six years. During this time she has been away from competition to take care of Arlet (6 years old), Abril (4), Ona (3) and Lluc (1).
It was her husband who asked her to come back when the little one was born. There was little more than a year left for Paris and it seemed impossible, but she is stubborn and set her sights on it. She began to prepare, playing a game of Tetris to be able to combine motherhood with training. In just five months, she achieved the minimum standard for the Games in the Seville marathon. And today, except for that finale in which, in addition to the guide not helping her, she had enough of a gap with the Japanese Misato Michishita so as not to have to speed up, her medal would have been the prize for a personal bet that began as a madness and that could have ended on the podium.
10 meters from the line she gets dg’ed. Come on that’s just silly.
This truly seems unfair, especially since the next closest finisher was over 3 minutes behind.
I imagine this will be appealed to the CAS. Interesting to see what they will rule.
Rules are rules but common sense needs to prevail.
Very easy to be so hard with unknown athletes.
A big name do this and they probably even make him / her a statue.
Common sense should always be above rules.
Shame on them!
Heartbreaking. This has to be overturned, she clearly wasn’t cheating and she handily had bronze with someone 3 minutes behind her. I understand the rules are there for a reason but there are certain rare circumstances where the rules shouldn’t necessarily apply and I think this definitely fits the bill. I bet the guide feels absolutely awful too. I feel so sorry for both of them, hopefully there’s a way to appeal and they can get the medal they earned.
I understand rules are rules but this is just wrong.
What a disgusting heartless decision, the kind of thing that makes people hate sports organisations.
This is bullshit. Upholding rules is one thing but displaying stubbornness in situations like this is antithetical to the spirit of the games. Giving her the medal she won and deserves won’t weaken their institutions.
Similar story a week ago Jayrd Clifford, an Australian man, was disqualfied in the 5000-meter T13 for untethering a metre or so short of the line.
He also would have won bronze.
I get it that they don’t want blind athletes sprinting away from guides, taking a risk for potential advantage, but I feel like there has to be some change to the system.
Maybe a percentage time penalty for an infraction rather than an outright disqualification. That wouldn’t turn it into a viable strategy to win a tight race but it would erase most of these heartbreaking situations.
That is really wrong. I am sorry but rules should have some exceptions based on circumstances and intentions…. otherwise they are plain wrong.