02.11.2009

Fearnley hits perfect six in New York

Australian wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley has won his fourth straight New York Marathon title and secured his sixth win from as many starts in 2009 in the Big Apple overnight.

In a race that went right down to the wire the 28-year-old New South Welshman edged out South African veteran Krige Schabort in a photo finish, the two racers stopping the clock at 1:35.58 in a hard-fought encounter on the streets of New York City. Marcel Hug (SUI) out-sprinted a pack of athletes to finish third, more than four minutes behind the race leaders.

Fearnley’s win rounds out a perfect year on the international wheelchair marathon circuit, his New York title adding to his event victories in Paris, London, Seoul, Sydney and Chicago.

An exhausted Fearnley was overjoyed with the result.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Fearnley said.

“That was one of the hardest races I have ever pushed and to finish in front is amazing."

The New York event was a two-man race from the early stages of its gruelling 42.2km duration, Fearnley and Schabort breaking clear of the pack in the first five kilometres. By the halfway mark the pair had set up a lead of more than two minutes and continued to pull away as the race went on.

Nothing could split the two great rivals as they entered New York’s iconic Central Park en route to the finish, and with fifty metres to go the pair drew level before Fearnley surged ahead to snatch victory by the slimmest of margins.

“I can’t believe it came down to the last metre,” Fearnley said.

“I attacked more than a dozen times during the race and tried to get a bit of a lead, but I couldn’t break him down.

“We’ve both had success here before and know the course well, and it’s as if Krige knew when I’d attack and vice versa when he had a go. With all the to-ing and fro-ing we ended up nullifying each other and not even the clock could split us.

“To finish a race like that as the winner is incredibly satisfying and it’s a great way to round out the year."

The two-time Paralympic Games marathon gold medallist (2004, 2008) will now tackle what is arguably the greatest challenge of his adrenaline-fuelled career when he attempts to crawl Papua New Guinea’s 96km Kokoda Track this month.

Kurt Fearnley’s perfect 2009:

Date	Event	Place	Time
April 5	Paris Marathon	First	1:30.17
April 26	London Marathon	First	1:28.56
May 10	Seoul Marathon	First	1:29.49
September 20	Sydney Marathon	First	1:36.43
October 11	Chicago Marathon	First	1:29.09
November 1	New York Marathon	First	1:35.58