Visually impaired athlete Jaryd Clifford has been disqualified over a violation of guide rules, denying the Australian a bronze medal in the men’s 5,000m T13 at the Paris Paralympics.
Clifford led for most of the race but was overtaken by gold medallist Spain’s Yassine Ouhdadi on the final lap.
It appeared he had secured third place but any ecstasy he felt quickly turned to agony as he was informed by officials that he and sighted guide Matt Clarke had breached race rules.
Clifford was the only athlete in the race competing with a guide.
The 25-year-old had hoped to appeal but he was told by the International Paralympic Committee he had no grounds to challenge its verdict.
“I went and saw mum and dad, and my girlfriend and broke down,” Clifford said after the final.
“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.”
Clifford later took to social media, explaining he understood why he was disqualified.
“Remaining tethered is a fundamental rule of guiding and I’m shattered that I lost my mind in those finals (sic) metres,” he wrote on X.
Clifford’s devastation was plain to see but Australia had something to cheer about with Michael Roeger and Madison de Rozario winning medals.
Roeger, competing in the men’s T46 1,500m final, was pipped by Russian athlete Aleksandr Iaremchuk on the final stretch and claimed a silver.
“In that last 80 metres, I was hurting so much and wanted that gold so much,” Roeger told the Nine Network.
“I did all the work in the first three laps, so tried to set it up.
Michael Roeger shows off his silver medal in the men’s T46 1,500m. (Getty Images: Tasos Katopodis)
“I was going lactic. Had enough of a gap to hold on for second.
“As much as I would have loved that gold medal and that was the dream, I’ve got to be happy. I left it all out there.
“Me and my coach said, ‘Put it on the line early, if they can hold with you’ … and only one ended up holding with me.”
Madison de Rozario collected another Paralympic medal with her bronze in the T54 5,000m. (Getty Images: Tasos Katopodis)
De Rozario finished with a bronze in the women’s T54 5000m final.
She said a restarted race knocked her out of sync as she ended up finishing behind American Susannah Scaroni and Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner.
“[My start] really came together perfectly and then I had this a bit of a shock when I heard the guns go again and to know they were calling back,” de Rozario said.
“It was a bit daunting. I wasn’t sure what that [my second start] was going to look like but I’m happy.”
The medal was the 30-year-old’s seventh Paralympic medal with her attention now turning to the 1,500m and the marathon.
AAP
