Talk:Athletics concludes at London Paralympics with the marathon

WEIR (GBR) and REILLY (USA) win last athletics golds of London 2012
WEIR (GBR) and REILLY (USA) win last athletics golds of London 2012 Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 17:39

LONDON, 9 September - Great Britain's David WEIR won his fourth gold medal of the London 2012 Paralympic Games in a breathtaking finish to the T54 men's marathon on Sunday.

The race came down to a three-man sprint down The Mall between WEIR, Marcel HUG (SUI) and Kurt FEARNLEY (AUS), winner of the marathon in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

WEIR, a six-time winner of the London Marathon, came out on top to the delight of the crowd in central London and was timed at 1 hour 30 minutes 20 seconds.

HUG took the silver and FEARNLEY the bronze, and the race between them was so close they were given the same time - 1:30.21.

Moments after they had crossed the line with only a second between gold and bronze, the three regular racing rivals were giving each other enthusiastic hugs.

Six men started the last of the three eight-mile (12.875km) laps together, but the three eventual medallists began to put daylight between themselves and the other trio with about five miles to go before they started the serious duelling for the medals over the final 5km.

Just as he had on his way to gold medals on the track over 800m, 1500m and 5000m, WEIR got in front with 500m to go, hitting the accelerator and using his positional skill in the finishing straight to prevent his rivals from passing him.

WEIR finished the Games unbeaten and was one of only two track and field athletes to win four golds at London 2012. The other was T53 wheelchair racer Raymond MARTIN (USA).

The last of the 170 athletics gold medals of the London 2012 Paralympic Games was won by Shirley REILLY (USA) in the T54 women's marathon,

In a finish similar to the T54 men's event, REILLY was part of a four-woman group who turned the final corner in front of Buckingham Palace together. REILLY produced the strongest finish and crossed the line in 1:46.33.

Shelly WOODS (GBR) was cheered home in second place a second behind REILLY, with Sandra GRAF (SUI) third in 1:46.35.

Amanda McGRORY (USA) was unlucky to miss out on a medal when she was judged to have finished fourth in the same time as GRAF.

The chances of Tatyana McFADDEN (USA) adding to her three golds on the track ended when she had a puncture early in the second half of the race, which took five minutes to fix, and then a second puncture between 19 and 20 miles.

Misfortune also befell 5000m winner Edith WOLF (SUI), one of the pre-race favourites. She was second at the start of the final lap but hit a bump in the road which resulted in her retiring from the race after losing feeling in her right arm.

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Women's marathon T54: WOLF (SUI)
Women's marathon T54: WOLF (SUI) Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 15:25

LONDON, 9 September - Comments from coach and husband Mark WOLF (SUI) after Edith WOLF (SUI) failed to complete the course through illness at the T54 women's marathon at The Mall on Sunday.

Edith WOLF (SUI)

On failing to complete the T54 women's marathon: "The second lap she felt very good. She smashed into a hole in the street and got a stroke in her neck. After she lost feeling in her neck and lost feeling in her right arm, she didn't recover. She went to the hospital to check what happened. We think it is a nerve problem. Hopefully, she will be OK."

"She was really looking forward to the marathon. She was really prepared, so I think she's really disappointed. I think tomorrow she will wake up and see her four medals and she will be very happy."

On Edith's Paralympic Games: "I think it's important to see your athlete compete at a most important event, reaching their maximum performance. Today with Sandra GRAF (SUI) and Marcel HUG (SUI), we had athletes who performed great and I think for us it's important. We have been a strong nation in the past and, hopefully, we can do it again."

On the perception of disability sports in Switzerland: "There are not so many media here, which is disappointing. But now they have recognised this (the Paralympic Games) is really a great Games. This is the second biggest sports event in the world and they are not here, so it's their loss, they missed a big chance."

On his London Games experience as a coach: "The people were great. The crowd were great. The people working here were so great. They were helpful and this was a well organised Games."

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Women's marathon T54: McFADDEN (USA)
Women's marathon T54: McFADDEN (USA) Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 14:25

LONDON, 9 September - Comments from three-time London 2012 gold medallist Tatyana McFADDEN (USA) who finished ninth in the women's marathon T54 which finished in The Mall, central London on Sunday.

Tatyana McFADDEN (USA)

On the race and her problems with flat tyres: "I started out so strong and halfway through the race no one was near me then the tyre went and it took me nearly five minutes to fix it while the pack went past."

"At 18 or 19 miles it went again, this always seems to happen to me in London. Luckily, I had a spare but I was bombed out. I just wanted to sit and cry but I also wanted to finish, there was only about six miles to go and I was determined I wasn't going to get another (flat tyre)."

"Finishing is the most important thing for me, it makes you a better person. I just wanted to compete and stay strong."

On her reaction to her achievements at London 2012: "It's been a phenomenal Games for me, and I've taken four out of five medals and completed the marathon in less than two hours with two flats. I can't complain. I walked away happy, thank you London."

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SUAREZ (ESP) sets world record to win T12 men's marathon
SUAREZ (ESP) sets world record to win T12 men's marathon Sunday, 09 September 2012 - 13:22

LONDON, 9 September - Alberto SUAREZ (ESP) added a London 2012 Paralympics Games gold medal to his 2011 world title when he won the T12 men's marathon title in a world record two hours, 24 minutes and 50 seconds in The Mall on Sunday.

SUAREZ has actually run faster than the time that will go into the record books, having completed the Seville Marathon in February in 2:23:24, but that was in an event without a Paralympic licence.

The Spaniard was on his own in the final 12km after he broke away from Abderrahim ZHIOU (TUN) just after 30km, having gradually shaken off all his other rivals with a furious pace from not long after the gun, going through the halfway point in 1:12:04.

ZHIOU started to tire badly from 35km and had to settle for the bronze medal as Elkin Alonso SERNA (COL) came through strongly in the last quarter of the race and caught up with him 2km from the line, and then overtook the flagging Tunisian to take the silver medal in 2:26:36.

Neverthless, ZHIOU completed his London 2012 medal collection and showed his impressive running range when he finished third in 2:25:56. Earlier in London 2012, he won gold medals on the track over 800m and 1500m, as well as taking a silver in the 5000m.

The T46 men's marathon, which started simultaneously with with its T12 counterpart, was won by Tito SENA (BRA) in 2:30:40.

SENA clinched his win after pulling away from Abderrahman AIT KHAMOUCH (ESP) 2km from the line with the Spaniard finishing 24 seconds behind in 2:31:04.

An audacious early pace was set by ZHANG Lei (CHN), who went through the half-way point more than two minutes ahead of the rest of the field.

However, by 30km ZHANG was clearly tiring. SENA and AIT KHAMOUCH worked together to haul in the Chinese runner, who eventually finished seventh, before embarking on their private duel for the gold medal.

Frederic VAN DEN HEEDE (BEL) ran a solitary race in the final 15km after being dropped by SENA and AIT KHAMOUCH when the leading pair decided to chase down ZHANG. However, he ran steadily to get the bronze medal in 2:31:38 after passing ZHANG at 33km.

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Disappearing media
Following the conclusion of the men's wheelchair race, lots and lots of the media up and disappeared. They did not stick around for the female medalists who were about 5 to 10 minutes behind the men. It was rather annoying in the extreme. I had some of my best photos based on waves of people disappearing after the medalists crossing the line. there were some really great stories involving athletes who finished later and not in the medals. --LauraHale (talk) 20:11, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Guide silver
This was repeatedly said by the announcer during the course of this race: If the guide runner for the blind runner ran the full marathon with the runner, they would also get a medal. The Colombian runner who earned silver had such a guide. Other runners utilized between 2 and 4 guide runners during the course of the T12 marathon. On the scoresheet, this is noted by listing the guide if they ran the whole course. --LauraHale (talk) 20:20, 9 September 2012 (UTC)