Australian Paralympian wins wheelchair competition in Chicago Marathon for second year

From the Chicago Tribune Oct. 13:

Kurt Fearnley won the men's Paralympics marathon at Athens in 2004 and at Beijing last summer, and Sunday he took the Chicago Marathon wheelchair division for the second straight year.

The Australian is hoping to come back to Chicago for both the Paralympics and the marathon in 2016.

"I think Chicago could host an incredibly talented Paralympics in 2016," Fearnley said. "If all things align [and Chicago hosts the Olympics], I could be here, trying again."From my point of view, the marathon was organized perfectly last year and again this year. But both years it was very warm out there."

Last year Fearnley won 10 international wheelchair events in 11 starts, breaking six course records. In Chicago he had to set a course record to win. He was timed in 1 hour 28 minutes 6 seconds, just one second faster than Krige Schabort of South Africa.

On Sunday, Fearnley won in 1:30:16, but this time the second-place finisher, Masazumi Soejima of Japan, was no threat with a time of 1:32:30.Fearnley and his 38-year-old Japanese adversary stayed side by side for more than 16 miles before the 27-year-old Australian took command.

"The difference between today and last year is that once I got away I wasn't pressed," Fearnley said. "When I looked back and saw he was more than a minute back, it's only natural to save a little bit.

"This year I've halved my marathoning. My goal was Beijing. This was my second major victory. For longevity in the sport, I think three or four wheelchair races is going to be my yearly limit."

Fearnley has been disabled his entire life. He was born with lumbar sacral agenesis, a condition that paralyzed his legs.

"At some point, no matter whether you're born in a wheelchair or you acquire a disability, you have to come to terms with who you are," he said. "I have seen guys who have acquired a disability hit the ground rolling. It's completely individual.

"For me, my disability was something that happened quite naturally. I had a real good family. I grew up on a little farm in Australia with two older brothers and two older sisters. My mum and dad had the attitude: He's one of the kids, and let's see what he can do.

"So I went out and did it. I rolled around the farm with my brothers and sisters and wasn't introduced to any sort of wheelchair until I was 13."

Also, 2007 Illinois graduate Joshua George, who won the Paralympic 100-meter gold medal in Beijing, came in seventh in the wheelchair marathon.

The women's winner was American Amanda McGrory. She was timed in 1:55:12,
while runner-up Cheri Blauwet of the U.S. finished in 1:55:34.