Disbelief as Aussie Paralympian stripped of medal
Australian athlete Jaryd Clifford has been disqualified and stripped of his medal after officials stepped in at the end of the mens 5000m event in Paris.
The 25-year-old runner crossed the line in third place, claiming a bronze medal and was celebrating with his team when the news came in of his disqualification.
Paralympic officials claim the Aussie had dropped the tether which ties him to his guide moments before he had crossed the line in the men’s T13 final.
Vision-impaired runners must hold onto the tether until they’ve finished the race in its entirety.
Clifford, who was the only runner in the field to use a guide, was left visibly distraught after learning he had been disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal.
“I went and saw mum and dad and my girlfriend and broke down,” Clifford said.
“I had my little cry on the side of the track. If you talk about reacting to results as grief, I had my grieving moment."
“Out on the track, I was a little bit numb, I’m still a bit numb … I am pretty shattered, to be honest, if I’m frank about it, we went in with the aim of winning gold.”
He later wrote on social media, “I’m absolutely gutted that we made such a critical mistake today. Remaining tethered is a fundamental rule of guiding and I’m shattered that I lost my mind in those final metres. I’ve got so much more to give, I promise to bring everything for the 1500m on Tuesday.”
Fans watching on couldn’t believe the Aussie had been stripped of the medal in a moment that had no impact on the final outcome of the race, as one person on X wrote: “So you run 4999 metres tethered and one not? That wouldn't affect the result of the race so the race rules are s**t.”
Image credits: Ulrik Pedersen/CSM/Shutterstock Editorial