Paris 2024: Catherine Debrunner wins marathon to take fifth gold of the Games

Catherine Debrunner raced to her fifth gold medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to lead a Swiss marathon double, as Marcel Hug) finally topped the podium on Sunday (8 September).

The other women’s marathon final saw a Morocco one-two with Fatima El Idrissi producing a world record mark in the T12 class (2:48.36). Wajdi Boukhili took gold for Tunisia in the men’s marathon T12.

Debrunner dominated the women’s T54 event from the start, finishing in 1:41.50 – four minutes and 23 seconds ahead of defending champion Madison De Rozario of Australia, whose father passed away while she was at the Games.

The most successful Para athletics athlete of Paris 2024, the Swiss wheelchair racer also won gold in the 400m T53, 800m T53, 1500m T54 and 5000m T54 track events.

"I'm the first woman who actually did this and it's a really big honour," Debrunner said. 

She narrowly missed another gold in the 100m, taking silver.

"I'm extremely exhausted, but also very, very happy. Winning this Paralympic marathon means all to me. Because it's (the marathon) something magical. And ending this whole Paralympics with this marathon, this is really something special.”

Hug, who won four gold medals at Tokyo 2020, could finally celebrate victory after two silvers and a bronze on the track. The ‘Silver Bullet’ was too strong for his rivals over the roads and cobbles of the capital in the men’s T54. 

Silver went to Jin Hua of China and bronze to Japan’s Tomoki Suzuki.  

I'm the first woman who actually did this and it's a really big honour

Morocco’s El Idrissi also produced a dominant performance to become the fastest-ever female marathon runner in the T12 class. Her compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi claimed silver finishing 9:42 behind of her. 

"I worked hard to run this time. The race was tough for me. The course was tricky with a lot of changes, and ups and downs. I managed to handle all the twists and turns,” El Idrissi said. "I wasn’t running for a time, only for a medal. I wasn’t aiming to get the world record, just to get the gold, and now I have both."

Tokyo 2020 winner and Rio 2016 silver medallist Misato Michishita added a bronze to her CV after Spain’s Elena Congost was disqualified.

France’s Rosario Gangloff finished in fourth place, 32 years after competing in the 10000m at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Wajdi Boukhili turned his Tokyo 2020 disappointment into a victory in Paris. He clocked 2:22.05 in the men’s marathon T12 followed by Spain’s Alberto Suarez Laso in silver. Gold medallist in London, Rio and Tokyo, Morocco’s El Amin Chentouf had to settle for bronze.

“It makes me full of pride. I have worked a lot. I hope I have honoured my commitment and the flag of my country,” Boukhili said. “In Tokyo I got sixth place. After that, I gave myself the goal of coming to Paris 2024 to clinch a gold medal. 

After 10 days, the Para athletics programme at Paris 2024 wrapped up with China topping the medal table (21 gold, 59 in total) followed by USA and Brazil with 10 gold medals, each.