Fearnley 1st in New York Marathon

Australia's Paralympian Kurt Fearnley took the top position in the Men's Wheelchair category of the ING New York City Marathon on 1 November with his time of 1:33.58.

Well-known on the Paralympic scene, Fearnley has taken medals at the past three consecutive Paralympic Games. He repeated impressive finishes during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games when he took the gold medal in the Men's Marathon (T54), one silver medal each in the 5,000m and 800m, and a bronze in the 1,500m.

In the Women's competition, Switzerland's Edith Hunkeler took the first position with her time of 1:58.15. Hunkeler also won multiple medals at the Paralympics. In Beijing she took the gold in the Women's Marathon (T54) and silver in the 1,500m. At the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games, Hunkeler won silver both in the 5,000m and 1,500m.

Hunkeler was followed by Great Britain's Shelly Woods, Japan's Wakako Tsuchida, and Australia's Christine Dawes respectively.

Following Kurt Fearnley in New York, Krige Schabort (USA) finished second with the same time as his first place competitor. Switzerland's Marcel Hug took third with a time of 1:40.43, and Spain's Roger Puigbo took fourth with a time of 1:40.44.

USA's Saul Mendoza came in fifth with his time of 1:40.46. Following Mendoza were Josh Cassidy (CAN), Masazumi Soejima (JPN), Rafael Botello (ESP), Ernst Van Dyk (RSA) and Joshua George (USA) respectively.