PARALYMPIC marathon runner Elena Congost was disqualified and denied a bronze medal after being disqualified just two meters from the finish line.<br /><br />Congost, 36, is a Spanish T12/B2 track and field athlete who was born with a degenerative vision impairment and thus ran with guide Mia Carol Bruguera in Paris.<br /><br />The athlete finished third in the T12 marathon event with a personal best of 3:00:48, but it counted for nothing.<br /><br />That’s because Congost let go of the rope, which is not allowed within Paralympic rules, to help Bruguera who was dealing with a cramp just before snatching third place.<br /><br />All runners in the T12 marathon must be connected to their guide via a tether at all times.<br /><br />The runner was thus disqualified and the bronze medal went to Japanese star Misato Michishita.<br /><br />Morocco's Fatima El Idrissi set a world record of 2:48.36 to win the gold medal and compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi finished second.<br /><br />Congost expressed her displeasure shortly after learning about the decision.<br /><br />The popular athlete doesn't regret her actions as she insists she did the right thing by looking after a fellow human being.<br /><br />Congost told Marca: "I would like everyone to know that I have not been disqualified for cheating, but rather I have been disqualified for being a person and for an instinct that comes to you when someone is falling and is to help or support them.<br /><br />"I'm devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal.<br /><br />"I'm super proud of everything I've done and in the end, they disqualified me because 10 meters from the finish line I let go of the rope for a second because a person next to me fell face first to the ground and I grabbed the rope again and we crossed the finish line.<br /><br />"The next athlete is three minutes away from me, so it was a reflex action of any human being to hold on to a person who is falling next to you.<br /><br />"When there is no help, no benefit, and when it is clear that I stop dead in my tracks because of that situation.<br /><br />"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 going back.<br /><br />"I don't understand how anyone can reason or understand the situation, that it's not about cheating, that it's not about dragging an athlete."
