Fearnley nudged out in London Marathon
April 13 2008. 21:45 AEST
World Champion wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley has made a promising yet disappointing start to 2008 with second place in the Flora London Marathon overnight.
Fearnley finished in a time of 1 hour 34 minutes, 4 seconds behind defending champion David Weir of England. A disappointed Fearnley battled a flat tyre and an early collision to finish runner-up to Weir for the second straight year.
"I'm gutted right now. To fight back from the crash at 10km, to get a flat at 20km and to finish just a couple of metres behind is devastating. I'm pushing great and to get so close again is hard to take" Fearnley said.
The incident packed race featured a number of collisions including a pile up on the final corner as seven athletes rounded together. Fearnley managed to steer clear of the final corner crash, however, was caught up in a collision at the 10km mark.
"I've never been in a race where seven blokes can win with 200 metres to go. I just kept my nose clean at the finish, but the race was tough going after getting a hole in my wheel at the 10km collision and the flat at 20km" he said.
Despite his disappointment, the result is a good start to Fearnley's Beijing Paralympics preparation, with the games less than five months away. After a record breaking year in 2007 with 10 marathon wins from 11 starts – the one loss was in London – Fearnley has limited his schedule this year to ensure he is in prime condition for the games.
"This year's all about Beijing, so when I look back on this race in a couple of weeks I'll be happy. I've cut my racing right back this year to try and stay fresh for the games, so every chance I get to push with these guys is important".
Fearnley has little time to get over his London disappointment as he defends his Seoul International Wheelchair marathon title in two weeks time. He then races just one more time over the marathon distance before attempting to defend his Athens 2004 gold medal in September.
Wheelchair Sports Australia Ltd
PO Box 4083 Homebush South NSW 2140
http://www.sports.org.au