Marathon records fall

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-18 08:51

Paralympic marathon runners set world records in both the men's marathon T46 and T52 classes yesterday.

Mexican runner Mario Santillan crushed Spaniard Javier Conde's previous mark by more than 4 min, crossing the line in 27 min 4 sec.

"I was aware of the world record before the race started. I felt sure that I could break it," said the 27-year-old.

"It was a hard race. The rivals were very competitive in the beginning, but I found my rhythm in the latter half of the race, and I maintained it until the finish line."

Brazil's Tito Sena came second, almost 3 min after the frontrunner.

"I thought I had the chance to win, because I was close to the lead. In the end, I couldn't overtake him," Sena said. "Though this was not my personal best, it was my best performance in recent Paralympics Games."

Italy's Walter Endrizzi finished third, winning his country's first medal in Beijing.

Former world record holder Javier Conde could only settle for an 11th place finish, more than a quarter of an hour behind the leading pack.

Earlier in the T52 class, Austria's Thomas Geierspichler bettered his own world record by more than 3 min with a new mark of 1:40:7.

"I didn't realize I could be the gold medalist. It is a fantastic feeling. You know you cannot win gold every day. I've been dreaming about this moment throughout my life," said Geierspichler, the silver medalist in Athens.

Japan's racers showed they have improved markedly with one more silver and a bronze yesterday in the men's wheelchair marathon. Hirokazu Ueyonabaru and defending champion Toshihiro Takada finished in second and third place.

Their times also broke the previous record held by Geierspichler. Canadian Clayton Gerein, the bronze medalist in Athens, finished sixth.

(China Daily 09/18/2008 page7)