The bronze medal escaped her because she had let go, two meters from the finish, the rope which connected her to her guide, who was suffering from cramps, to avoid her fall.
Published on 09/11/2024 16:57
Reading time: 1min
Compensation. Marathon runner Elena Congost, disqualified during the Paris Paralympic Games marathon even though she came third, will receive financial aid from the Spanish Paralympic Committee, it was announced on Friday November 8. This grant, amounting to 2,050 euros per month, allocated to both the athlete and her guide, corresponds to the monthly sum which would have been granted to her as part of a support plan for Paralympic athletes in the country if she had indeed won the bronze medal.
On September 8, during the marathon reserved for visually impaired athletes (T12), Elena Congost came third but was disqualified for having let go, two meters from the finish, the rope which connected her to her guide, suffering from cramps, to avoid his fall. The bronze medal was finally awarded to the Japanese Misato Michishita, arriving more than three minutes after the Rio 2016 Paralympic champion.
At the end of October, a request made by the Spanish Paralympic Committee to grant another bronze medal – without taking it away from Misato Michishita – to the 37-year-old marathon runner, pleading assistance to anyone in danger during the race, had been rejected by the World Para-athletics Federation. The committee then indicated its support for the athlete, who could turn to legal action.
Senegal
