McFadden completes second Grand Slam with victory in New York

The USA’s Tatyana McFadden recovered from a fall to win the New York Marathon, with Australia’s Kurt Fearnley scooping the men’s title. 03 Nov 2014

Women in racing wheelchair crosses the finish line on a street

Tatyana McFadden of the United States crosses the finish line to win the women's division during the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon.

ⒸGetty Images

By IPC

“I cannot believe that I have won eight marathons in a row,” McFadden told NBC Sports. “This is absolutely incredible.”

American Tatyana McFadden recovered in the most dramatic fashion to retain her New York Marathon title, in New York, USA, on Sunday (2 November), and complete the Grand Slam of marathon victories for a second consecutive year.

It wasn’t plain sailing for McFadden, who, when entering the latter stages of the race, fell from her wheelchair and had to quickly return to her seat before the chasing pack made headway.

But she recovered in superb style, powering home in 1:42.16, over a minute ahead of Switzerland’s Manuela Schar (1:43.25) and Japan’s Wakako Tsuchida (1:44.49).

This completed a second Grand Slam for McFadden, after winning the London Marathon in Great Britain, and the Boston and Chicago Marathons, in the USA, earlier this year.

“I cannot believe that I have won eight marathons in a row,” McFadden told NBC Sports. “This is absolutely incredible.”

Talking about the fall, McFadden said: “It was quite embarrassing, but I owned it at that moment, and I got back in and took one look behind me to make sure the girls didn’t catch me.”

Due to high-winds of up to 64km/h, the race was forcibly shortened to 23.2 miles (37.3km) with the start moved from the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn.

McFadden stated that this was something that altered her race tactics.

“It was very, very windy. So in the race, you had to be smart,” she said. “You had to be strategic. And you had to conserve, and you had to think about where your strength and weaknesses are throughout the entire race.”

Australia’s Kurt Fearnley claimed his fifth New York Marathon title in an incredibly tight men’s race, with just four seconds separating the top six racers.

Fearnley raced to victory in 1:30:55, ahead of South Africa’s Ernst Van Dyk (1:30.56) and Poland’s Tomasz Hamerlak (1:30.36).

The men’s handcycle race also saw a nail-biting finish, with the USA’s Alfredo De Los Santos edging out France’s Ludovic Narce courtesy of a photo-finish after both crossing the line in 1:17.28. Third place went to France’s Stephane Massard in 1:24.53.

In the women’s race, the USA’s Helene Hines (2:04:45) beat compatriots Ashli Molinero (2:07:30) and Rosalie Ames (3:5:47)

For more information, visit the New York Marathon website.