by Moroccan Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi set a new women’s marathon world record for visually impaired runners as the Paris Paralympics ended on Sunday with China at the top of the medal table, ahead of Great Britain and the United States .
Moroccan Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi broke the women’s marathon world record for visually impaired runners on the final day of the Paralympic Games.
El Idrissi finished Sunday in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 36 seconds, beating the previous record of Japan’s Misato Michishita in Hofu City in December 2020 by almost 6 minutes.
“I wasn’t running for a time, only for a medal,” said the 29-year-old Moroccan. “I wasn’t aiming for the world record, just for gold, and now I have both.”
Her compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi was just over 9 minutes behind, followed by Michishita, almost 15 minutes behind the winner.
Elena Congost thought she had won bronze, but the Spanish runner was later disqualified for releasing the tether of her guide, Mia Carol Bruguera, before the finish.
Michishita only discovered she had been reclassified to bronze after a doping test.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said the Japanese runner, who said she was injured after winning the last edition in Tokyo and was unsure if she would be able to race in Paris.
Tunisian Wajdi Boukhili won the men’s T12 marathon.
Boukhili, 25, finished in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 5 seconds, ahead of Spaniard Alberto Suarez Laso and Paralympic record holder El Amin Chentouf of Morocco. All three achieved the best times of the season.
Swiss wheelchair racers Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug won the women’s and men’s marathons in the T53/54 categories.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
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