Madi’s Major Marathon Triumph
Published Sun 22 Apr 2018
West Australian Madison de Rozario goes from strength to strength and has added a brilliant victory in the London Marathon to a growing list of accolades.
The win against the top women in the world, comes just one week after being crowned the Commonwealth champion on the Gold Coast.
The 24-year-old Australian won in a sprint finish against four-time winner Tatyana McFadden (USA) with both sharing the same time of 1:42:58.
Only twice before in the history of the event has a faster time been recorded. The depth of competition was outstanding as McFadden had recently won the Boston Marathon for a fifth-time and also won silver at the Rio Paralympic Games.
Back in fourth was Abbott World Marathon Majors champion Manuela Schär from Switzerland, three seconds behind the Aussie. Schär had an unassailable lead in the series coming into London.
Big congratulations @madiderozario winner of women’s T53/54 in 1:42:58 #LondonMarathon #worldparaathletics pic.twitter.com/WIx3gvGuU2
— World Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) April 22, 2018
On the men’s side, Kurt Fearnley finished fifth one week after his own emphatic victory in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Fearnley’s time of 1:31:24 was only nine seconds behind Briton David Weir who won a record eighth title as he defeated Switzerland's world record-holder Marcel Hug.
The Australian’s course record of 1:28:57 from 2009 survived another year. Temperatures reached 23 degrees as it was the hottest race on record. Organisers released a warning to entrants before the race to adjust their plans and pace to take into account the hot conditions.
And congratulations to another West Australian Matt Felton who placed third in the T46 marathon and recorded 2:47:39 behind Derek Rae from Great Britain who won with 2:36:13.