A runner who had his Paralympic medal stripped has broken his silence on the ‘devastating’ decision.
On Saturday (31 August), 25-year-old Jaryd Clifford came away from the Men’s T13 5,000m final with a bronze medal.
He and his two guides finished behind Spaniard Yassine Ouhdadi El Ataby and Russian-born Aleksandr Kostin with a time of 16:12:45 at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
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However, just seconds after seemingly contesting third place, the visually impaired athlete was disqualified from the event and thus lost his podium position.
Video footage from the event shows that when Jaryd crossed the finish line with his guide Matthew Clarke, the pair were not correctly tethered.
Officials from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) subsequently ruled the athlete was in breach of the staunch rule and thus disqualified from the race.
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The sportsman lost his bronze medal to Russia’s Anton Kuliatin and later took to social media to share his thoughts on the decision.
He wrote on X: "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 metres.
"I’ve got so much more to give, I promise to bring everything for the 1500m on Tuesday."
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Speaking to Nine News after the race, Jaryd said: "When I have a guide it means I can focus on the running.
“I don't have to worry about the tactics, [how many] laps to go, which people are around me.
“It means when I make a hard move for home I can go all out and not worry about saving some visual energy for that last lap to make sure I can just get around.”
The runner continued to claim that being guided in a race is a ‘want’ not a ‘need’ and that the pros usually outweigh the cons.
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“Two guides mean they should be fresher. Today on the last lap was probably a day where the guiding was a con,” he confessed.
However, there are no hard feelings between Jaryd and his guides Matthew and Tim Logan.
“These boys are my best mates,” the Paralympian explained before claiming the disqualification was ‘pretty shattering’.
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The Australian athletics team management has also had its say, telling the outlet that three-time Paralympic medalist was in ‘good shape’ ahead of the dash.
“But there is always risks when you bring in other factors to middle-distance running, such as guides,” Athletics Australia explained. “Jaryd needs guides to run these distances competitively, but it creates more margin for error and unfortunately today was a realisation of that.
“He has the 1500m on his program and we know he will be putting all the energy and disappointment into that performance.”
The Aussie echoed that he was still ‘chasing gold’ at the 2024 Summer Games and that he hoped to ‘shrug off’ the disappointment before taking on the Men’s 1500m final.
The Para Athletics Men’s T13 1500m final is set to take place from 9am on Tuesday (3 September).
Topics: Paralympics, Sport, Australia
Ella Scott