Australia’s De Rozario wins London Marathon wheelchair event
Fresh from her Commonwealth Games triumph, Australia's Madison De Rozario has taken out the women's elite wheelchair event at the London Marathon.
Her compatriot Kurt Fearnley came fifth in the men's event, following a thrilling three-way dash for first that saw England's David Weir storm to an eighth victory.
"I feel very surprised still, it's unreal, that was amazing," said De Rozario, who won T54 Commonwealth Games gold just over a week ago.
"Just physically doing the 42km felt a lot easier after last weekend and knowing that my body is happy to do it.
"Then you throw in the competitive part on top of it and I had a bit more confidence going in, knowing that I could stay and that I could maybe sprint finish."
She is the first Australian to win the London Marathon's women's wheelchair event.
Eliud Kipchoge won the main event for the third time, with Mo Farah breaking the British record as he finished third, while there was a surprise victory for Vivian Cheruiyot in the women's race.
Kipchoge, who skipped last year's race to attempt a sub-two-hour marathon in Italy, could not break Dennis Kimmetto's world record as high temperatures made running conditions difficult in the English capital.
The mercury reached 24.1 degrees Celsius, the highest mark ever recorded at the London Marathon, beating the previous mark of 22.7 degrees.
Women's favourite Mary Keitany attempted to break Paula Radcliffe's 'mixed race' record — assisted by male pacemakers — but the Kenyan struggled late on in the race, eventually finishing fifth and unable to add to her three London titles.
That allowed Cheruiyot in to take her first London crown, having won her first career marathon in Frankfurt only in October.
Radcliffe's record, set in 2003, did seem under threat at first as Keitany comfortably led for the majority of the race but the conditions got the better of her in the end.
The men's race went out at a blistering pace, with early leader Guye Adola clocking four minutes 22 seconds in the first mile, and Farah stayed with the group until a bizarre incident when he missed his drinks bottle around the 10-mile mark, which delayed him after a heated exchange with a steward.
"The drink station was confusing, I was table four, I went to pick it up," Farah told the BBC.
"The staff were helpful at the end but at the beginning they were trying to take a picture rather than giving me the drink."
External Link: Katie B tweets Mo Farah and the lost water bottle
Farah came home in third, finishing with 2:06:21 and breaking Steve Jones's British marathon record which has stood since 1985.
"I enjoyed the race very much," Kipchoge said.
"I still enjoy the win and I'm happy to be able to win for the third time in London."
ABC/Reuters
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