Disqualified Clifford loses bronze over guide breach

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Disqualified Clifford loses bronze over guide breach

Jaryd Clifford is set to have his Paralympic bronze medal snatched from his grasp after the *********** runner was disqualified in the men’s T13 5000m final.

Clifford led for most of the race but was overtaken by gold medallist Spain’s Yassine El Ataby Ouhdadi on the final lap.

The visually-impaired athlete thought he had finished third at the Stade de France on Saturday.

But any ecstasy quickly turned to agony as he was informed by officials that he and guide Matt Clarke had breached race rules.

Clifford was the only runner in the race with a guide and the 25-year-old, who is expected to appeal the decision, said: “I went and saw mum and dad and my girlfriend and broke down … I’m probably still a bit numb.

“I want to know what it is, because there’s a few fundamental rules in guiding. The tether can never be dropped, it wasn’t dropped.

“I have to cross the line first and the boys are pretty certain I crossed the line first.

“It will be really interesting to know what it is … they (officials) were saying guide to guide so it’s pretty vague.”

Clifford’s devastation was plain to see and the sense of near-misses was a theme throughout a dramatic first hour at the athletics track.

As Clifford was seeking answers, Madison de Rozario finished with a bronze in the women’s T54 5000m final.

De Rozario said a restarted race knocked her out of sync as she ended up finishing behind ********* 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 1500m and the marathon.

Soon after Michael Roeger, competing in the men’s T46 1500m, was pipped by Russian athlete Aleksandr Iaremchuk on the final stretch and claimed a silver.

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