Paralympic guide vows to ‘fight injustice’ after his cramp caused runner to lose medal

‘Bald hairdresser’ Mia Carol insists he will not give up hope of overturning decision to disqualify Spanish runner Elena Congost

Mia Carol, the guide whose sudden cramp was followed by a marathon runner being controversially disqualified from the Paralympics, has vowed to keep fighting against the agonising “injustice” of the situation.
The Spanish runner Elena Congost had been poised to win a bronze medal before momentarily letting go of her rope in the closing metres to help Carol after he cramped up in the final strides of Sunday’s race. The decision to disqualify her has prompted global outrage, with Carol also now saying that his cramp was partially caused by having to wear a non-breathable guide’s bib for the duration of the 26.2 mile race.
“Every athlete has had cramps and knows that they are never opportune,” said Carol. “We know that we did what anyone would have done, because in reverse. I would have helped her too. That is normal, not the disqualification or the poor management at the judges’ level.
“They simply applied the rule instead of thinking about what it was established for, which is for a case in which the guide helps the athlete. One thing is to apply it and another to interpret it.”
Congost was in tears after officials ruled she broke the regulations, with the bronze medal instead being awarded to Japan’s Misato Michishita. Runners in the T12 event for athletes with visual impairments must be tethered to their guide for the duration of the race. “I’m devastated, to be honest, because I had the medal,” said Congost, who was born with a degenerative hereditary eye disease.
“I’m super proud of everything I’ve done and in the end they disqualified me because 10 metres from the finish line because I let the rope go for a second.
“It was a reflex act of any human, to hold on to a person who is falling next to you. But they say that I have let go of the rope for a second and since I have let it go, that’s it, there is no turning back. I don’t understand that.
“It’s not for cheating, it’s not for dragging down an athlete. I am left with nothing. I can’t find any explanation for it and it seems so unfair and so surreal, really.”
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, Carol was asked how he felt.
“On a physical level I am fine, in fact I was already fine two minutes after the race,” said Carol. “Tired after a marathon and with some discomfort in my right knee that came from before, but fine. On a mental level, coming down from the cloud because we are not used to these media issues, but happy after everything seemed so dark.
“When you receive the news you would burn anything, but as the hours go by you receive first the support of those around you, and then that of people you do not know and that of the media that is helping us in the fight. Two days later, we are proud of the race we did.”
Asked if he still had hope for Congost, Carol said: “Totally. It’s the last thing you lose and a marathon runner like her or an ultra-runner like me are used to not giving up. You have to pick yourself up after a hard blow and, if we don’t fight against injustice, then what do we have left?”
Carol also revealed that his dehydration was influenced not just by a lack of salts at the end of three hours of running but a rule that the guide must wear a particular non breathable bib “There were two or three factors that dehydrated me,” he said. “I had run out of them [salts], yes, but another strange rule also contributed, which is that the guide wears a T-shirt and a non-breathable bib on top. [Also] the wind or the ibuprofen that I had taken for the pain in my knee.
“Whether we won the gold medal or lost, we would have always had the affection of those around us. We decided to return to Barcelona earlier, because Elena was devastated, and the reaction of the people has been incredible. Our mobile batteries are dead, but people are also stopping us in the street.
“I’m not a professional, I’m just a bald hairdresser … but I like challenges. I’ve learned a lot from Elena and the Paralympic family in terms of overcoming obstacles is incredible.”