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After the exclusion was confirmed, Clifford posted a statement on X.
“I am absolutely gutted that we made such a huge mistake today,” he wrote. “Staying tied up is a fundamental rule of steering and I am devastated that I lost my mind in those final metres. I have so much more to give. I promise to give it my all for the 1500m on Tuesday.”
Channel Nine Australia commentator David Colbert said during the broadcast that what happened appeared to be a clear breach of the rules.
“You have to hold the rope up to the line, and the rope is clearly not in the hands of the athletes,” Colbert said. “In fact, it looks like Jared dropped the rope just before the line.”
Meanwhile, Australian runner Michael Roger said he was satisfied to win silver in a thrilling men's 1,500m final (46th), two years after he nearly died during a training run.
Roger had his best result in five Paralympics, but he had his sights set on gold with one lap to go.
The Canberra native made a strong start and surged to open up a 50-metre gap but was unable to hold on in the final few metres as Russia's Alexander Yaremchuk, competing for the Neutral Paralympic Athletes Team, took gold by less than a second.
Roger, who suffers from a defect in one end of his right arm, finished eighth in 2008 and took bronze in 2016 before harnessing the energy of the Stade de France crowd to take the lead.
Michael Roger celebrates his silver medal. credit: Getty Images
The 36-year-old was a marathon specialist but was excluded from the Paris Paralympics programme in his category, leaving him with no choice but to compete in the shorter distance.
“You always want more when you come in second,” said Roger. “I executed the race plan. The last 50 metres were tough. Luckily I did enough early on. The dream is still there to stand on the podium. Second place is tough but I am very proud.”
“Now I know what it's like to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. That crowd was amazing.”
The road to Paris has not been easy for Roeger, who collapsed after a race in Canberra in May 2022 and was taken to hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding.
Roger had been unable to run for six months. Seeing his twin brother in the crowd after winning the silver medal was an emotional moment for the family.
“He cried, buddy, that’s it,” Roger said of his brother Chris. “The sun is going to come out tomorrow. I want to run tomorrow and I’m going to be happy. It’s not the end of the world if I come in second in the world. I’m proud. It’s my fifth Olympics and I’m still getting better. Who would have thought I was 36 and standing here in front of you guys?”
“I saw my boss, Kieren Perkins, in the crowd, and oh my god, how cool is that? He's a legend.”
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Roger had long hair for many years but cut it all off in the village and dyed it blonde with hydrogen peroxide in the hope of saving a few seconds off his time on the track.
He said someone in the village thought he looked like former Australian Football League star Jason Akermanis.
“I've been walking around the village and no one has really recognized me the past few days,” he said.
Roger also praised his coaches, partner and Langhorne Creek Football Club.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them,” he said. “They supported me since I was this big. They didn’t care that I had one arm. They didn’t care who I was. I was like the guy who lived next to me on the pitch and they accepted me as a football club.”
Madison De Rosario also took the bronze medal in the women's 5,000m final (54th place).
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