Elena Congost (Castelldefels, 38 years old) has been a superhero since birth. It didn’t matter that he came into the world with a rare hereditary disease that caused him to gradually lose his sight, the same one that today only allows him to perceive the … 10% of what your ocular sense captures. She turned her weakness into strength and, after a lot of rowing, became one of our country’s best Paralympic athletes. A marathon specialist, he reached the rank of legend by conquering the gold at Rio 2016sporting glory which she combined with the formation of a large family, accompanied by the former athlete Jordi Rierawho gave him four children, Arlet, Abril, Ona and Lluc. However, everything has changed in the Paris gameswhere she suffered an unprecedented disqualification which deprived her of bronze. A nightmare that still haunts her, even in her most pleasant dreams, but which served as fuel for her, last Sunday, to return to the top of the emblematic Valencia marathon.
“I’m still in pain,” she explains cheerfully during her interview with ABC. It’s not surprising then Congostwhen he crossed paths with his new guide Roger Sans City of Arts and Sciencesthe first time he competed since his disappointment on the banks of the Signbeat him European record (2:54:36) in its category (T12), the most distinguished mark of 2025 for visually impaired athletes and the second best of all time, “the greatest comeback of my life”. “I suffered a lot in the last three kilometers at the muscular level, I was afraid that the marathon wall would appear to me at the end, but with determination and with the help of my trainer, I was happy when I reached the finish line,” says the Catalan, who always recounts her exploits with unusual simplicity.
A pose that falters when asked about two setbacks that almost made him abandon the competition for good. She had two abortions, the second of which was “very complicated”, and shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with optic nerve tumor which required him to undergo surgery and undergo immunotherapy. “Yes, it’s been a bit of a complicated year. I left the Paris Games shaken and I thought about stopping my career to become a mother again, but first I had a miscarriage and shortly after another, the last one five months after the start of my pregnancy. It was serious and on top of that, they diagnosed me with a tumor. But hey, in the end it’s all about continuing, fighting, falling, getting back up, learning and continuing. “It’s sport and also life.”
But with the help of her family (“children are the ones who save you when the night is darkest”) and a gripping survival manual, Congost He didn’t stop running until he got back to where he was, at the top of the marathon. And even though almost a year and a half has passed, what he doesn’t forget is the “injustice” of Paris. On October 8, 2024, a few meters from the finish line, Congost’s guide, Mia Carolebegan suffering from leg cramps due to medication he was taking for knee problems, which was dehydrating him and making him staggered. The athlete, in a completely human gesture, released the rope that connected them both to help him, but caused them to violate the section 7.9 of the Paralympic regulations, the penalty in the event of disqualification is that the guide and athlete separate at any time. Even though she crossed the finish line in third place many meters ahead of her imminent pursuer, the bronze medal never hung around her neck.
Disqualification in Paris
“My guide was ill and I also suffered a lot. “We do not change the test result.”
“Now I see it from afar and it doesn’t hurt anymore. But yes, yes, I find this totally unfair and above all totally absurd. It was a situation that did not benefit me at all. On the contrary, it hurt me, because I was several meters ahead. On top of that, my guide was bad and I also suffered a lot. We didn’t change the test result and I didn’t let go of the rope, it slipped to hold Mia. We asked if there would be disqualification if an athlete broke the rule of tying his shoes or going to the toilet, very common things in the marathon, and they said yes, but it seems illogical,” Congost firmly asserts, before revealing that he still hopes to get back the medal that was taken away from him.
His case in Gallic lands was so media-rich and controversial that the CPE (Spanish Paralympic Committee) He received the 30,000 euro scholarship intended only for Paralympic medalists. Moreover, one day the famous Belgian lawyer stood at his door Jean-Louis Dupontof the Dupont-Hissel law firm, architect of the “Bosman law”, which allowed the free movement of footballers on European territory, and one of the main advisors to the Super League. Since then, they have worked side by side and after filing a complaint a year ago before the French courts, “slow like the Spanish one”, they were summoned on March 23 during a hearing before a Paris court.
Congost, during training
“Our intention is that they requalify us, change the rule and award me the medal, which would be shared, I understand, with the one who finished third with my elimination (the Japanese Misato Michishita), predicted Congostas aware of the past as she is ambitious and eager to take revenge on the future. “From the first minute Paris happened, we already had in mind Los Angeles 2028. When the same day the Committee said that it supported us and that it gave us the scholarship and that we could continue the training, the objective was always to go to the United States to get rid of this thorn, of course. An intimidating response at the best of times, because to this day, Congost He broke down all the walls that life had put up in front of him. Reclaiming what’s hers and being crowned in one of the sport’s high places seems like a challenge worthy of the resurgent champion.
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