An Australian Paralympic runner was disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal for breaking a “fundamental rule” inches from the finish line during Saturday’s race.
Jaryd Clifford, who is legally blind, was left “gutted” after officials deemed the Aussie and his guide, Matt Clarke, were not connected by the tether when the pair crossed the finish line during the Men’s T13 5000m final.
Runners and their guides are required to hold the tether, a 20-inch-long band with handles on both ends, until the end of the race.
“I’m not just shattered for me; I’m shattered for them (his guides),” Clifford told reporters after the race, according to Nine.com.au. “They give everything for me out there.”
Clifford had two guides during the race — Tim Logan ran the first half of the 5000m before Clarke jumped in and ran the second leg.
“… That’s s–t. I can’t see how they DQ’d us, but I’m sure there’s a reason, which makes me nervous,” Clifford said before being told the official ruling.
Athletics Australia said they would protest the ruling but officials said there had no grounds to do so.
After the race, an emotional Clifford embraced his family.
“I went and saw mom and dad and my girlfriend and broke down,” Clifford said according to Yahoo Sports. “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.”
Australia Channel 9 commentator David Culbert pointed out Clifford’s error during Saturday’s broadcast.
“You’ve got to hold the tether all the way through to the line and it’s pretty clear it’s not in the hands of both athletes,” Culbert said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “In fact, it looks like Jaryd’s let it go just before the line there.”
Clifford took to social media to share his thoughts on the race, admitting to making the “critical mistake.”
“I’m absolutely gutted that we made such a critical mistake today. Remaining tethered is a fundamental rule of guiding & I’m shattered that I lost my mind in those finals meters,” Clifford said before looking forward to his next race.
“I’ve got so much more to give, I promise to bring everything for the 1500m on Tuesday,” he added.
Clifford, who won two silver medals and a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games, was diagnosed with “Best Disease” a rare visual impairment.
He was the only runner in the race to have a guide.
“When I have a guide it means I can focus on the running,” Clifford explained. “Guiding for me is not a need; it’s a want. The pros usually outweigh the cons.”
“Two guides mean they should be fresher, he added. “Today on the last lap was probably a day where the guiding was a con.
“But these boys are my best mates,” Clifford said.
T13 is the classification used for the Paralympic track events for athletes with visual impairments.
The Paralympians’ vision is constricted to a radius of less than twenty degrees, and/or the ability to recognize a tennis-ball-sized object at a maximum of five meters,” according to LEXI.
The bronze medal was awarded to Russia’s Anton Kuliatin.
Spain’s Yassine Ouhdadi El Ataby won the race at 15:50.64.
