The Spanish Paralympic Committee says it is appealing the decision that led to the disqualification of Elena Congost during the 2024 Paralympics T12 women’s marathon.
In a statement obtained by CNN Sport earlier this month, the SPC said it was preparing a letter to request that World Para Athletics award the bronze medal to Congost and her guide, Mia Carol.
Carol was guiding Congost, who is visually impaired, during the race on Sept. 8 in Paris when his leg cramped at the finish line.
When Congost attempted to help him, they accidentally dropped the rope connecting them, a violation of the Paralympics rules for visually impaired racers. Despite being just feet from the finish line and a bronze medal, Congost was immediately disqualified.
Since losing out on the bronze — even though she was three minutes ahead of the eventual third-place finisher — Congost told the outlet that she has also lost out on thousands of dollars in compensation. The athlete would have stood to win about $33,000 in addition to a grant awarded to Spain’s medalists.
“It also affects my salary for each month because, at the end of the day, this is my job,” she said. “The Spanish Paralympic Committee, thanks to pressure from the media, issued a statement that they would give me the grant as if I were a medalist. So that has given me a lot of peace of mind.”
Congost was the 2016 gold medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games, and then took time off from running and had four children before returning for Paris.
Two of her kids were at the finish line when she thought she had won bronze — and when she was told that she had been disqualified.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Congost said. “I’d worked so hard, I’d fought, I’d tried my best. So many people have helped me, and they deserve that celebration with the medal.”
She added about telling her children: “I had to explain that injustices exist in the world and that sometimes doing things right doesn’t mean being rewarded,” she said. “I don’t know if they ended up understanding it or not because they are very small.”
In appealing World Para Athletics’ decision, the runner hopes to have redemption one day.
“That moment on the podium, they have stolen it from us. We will never have that,” she said. “But my coach has promised me that, if at any time they give us the medal, we will return to Paris, to the Eiffel Tower, and take a picture with the medal.”
