05 WORLD PARA ATHLETICS MARATHON WORLD CUPlondon-marathon.s3.amazonaws.com/vmlm2014/live... · The World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup returns in 2017 with a new name and more

VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON 2017

Media Guide 2017 87

The World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup returns in 2017 with a new name and more athletes than ever, including five of last year’s seven champions.

After the huge success of the 2012 Paralympic Games, the first IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup was held in 2013 with events for para-athletes added to a race-day programme that had long included elite wheelchair competitions. Four IPC Athletics world records were broken that year as athletes took part in six events. Another world record went in 2014 when a seventh event, for T51/52 wheelchair athletes, was added to the programme.

The Marathon World Cup was not held in 2015 when the London Marathon hosted the IPC Athletics Marathon World Championships, which witnessed four world records from eight races. The World Cup returned last year, when China’s Zheng Jin broke the women’s T11 world record.

The event was renamed the London 2017 World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup this year following the re-branding of the international federation for para athletics at the end of 2016.

The Events

There will be seven World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup events at the 2017 London Marathon:• T11/T12 – for para-athletes with a severe visual impairment who run with a guide – races for men & women• T13 – for para-athletes with a visual impairment meeting the minimum criteria – men’s race only• T45/46 – for para-athletes with lower and upper arm impairments – men only• T51/52 – wheelchair racers with activity limitation in both lower and upper limbs – men only• T53/54 – wheelchair racers with partial trunk and leg function – men & women.

• All World Cup athletes will compete in their national vests, except those in the London Marathon’s traditional T53/54 wheelchair races, who will wear their own racing colours.

• All World Cup medal winners, except those in the T53/54 wheelchair races, will receive prize money from World Para Athletics, as follows: 1st - $2,000 2nd - $1,000 3rd - $750

• In races where there are fewer than four athletes, no medals or prize money will be awarded.• The T51/52 and T53/54 wheelchair races will start 08:55; the other IPC events will start at 09:00.

Reigning World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup championsT11/12 Men Yutaka Kumagai (JPN) 2:33:24T11/12 Women Zheng Jin (CHN) 3:13:15T13 Men Aniceto Antonio dos Santos (BRA) 2:32:52T45/46 Men Li Chaoyan (CHN) 2:27:07T51/52 Men Ray Martin (USA) 1:59:53T53/54 Men Marcel Hug (SUI) 1:35:19T53/544 Women Tatyana McFadden (USA) 1:44:14

PreviewMarcel Hug and Tatyana McFadden are two of the four reigning World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup champions who will defend their crowns on 23 April. Formerly the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup, this annual contest of seven races for elite para-athletes is being staged as part of the London Marathon for the fourth time.

The other returning champions are Yutaka Kumagai, who defends his T11/12 title in the race for visually impaired athletes, and USA’s Paralympic multi-medallist Ray Martin, who seeks a third straight victory in the T51/52 wheelchair race against Spain’s Santiago Sanz.

Kumagai will face fellow Japanese Tadashi Hirokoshi, the 2015 world bronze medallist, while Spain’s two-time winner and former world record holder Maria Paredes Rodriguez bids to regain the women’s T11/12 title. She will have to beat the Rio silver and bronze medallists, Misato Michishita of Japan and Brazil’s Edenusa de Jesus Santos Dorta.

Another Rio bronze medallist, Manuel Mendes of Portugal, faces 2013 world champion Alessandro di Lello of Italy and Brazil’s 2015 world silver medallist Alex Pires da Silva in the men’s T45/46 contest for arm amputees.

London-based New Zealander Tim Prendergast takes on Poland’s Patryk Lukaszewski in the T13 race.

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Athletes with Visual Impairments

T11/12 Men

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name291 Tadashi Hirokoshi JPN T12 2:27:42 28 19/07/88 HIROKOSHI292 Yutaka Kumagai JPN T12 2:31:25 30 14/02/87 KUMAGAI293 Shinya Wada JPN T11 2:32:11 39 09/07/77 WADA Guides: Takashi Nakata / Kazumitsu Imaki294 Gabriel Macchi POR T12 2:37:23 41 02/10/75 MACCHI Martim Nunes / Jorge Rodrigues295 Masahiro Taniguchi JPN T11 2:39:04 26 16/07/90 TANIGUCHI Shogo Matsugaki / Satoshi Ikezawa296 Sandi Novak SLO T11 2:40:02 43 16/07/73 NOVAK Roman Kejzar / Urban Jereb297 Joaquim Machado POR T11 2:41:53 46 03/04/71 MACHADO Paulo Ramos / Luis Ginja298 Jorge Pina POR T12 2:43:31 41 11/01/76 PINA Helio Fumo / Ricardo Abreu299 Masato Hatate JPN T12 2:43:54 43 09/09/73 HATATE Otsuki Manabu / Hisamura Koki300 Satoru Yoneoka JPN T11 2:50:39 31 09/06/85 YONEOKA Naoki Okumura / Takeomi Yanagisaw301 Yap Tien-Fung GER T12 2:56:20 27 28/10/90 TIEN-FUNG Max Kirschbaum302 Ralf Arnold GER T11 2:58:59 45 30/07/71 ARNOLD Matthias Rosenkranz / Florian Graser

Biographies

Tadashi Hirokoshi: He was fourth at the Rio Paralympics having clinched bronze at the 2015 World Championships in London in a PB 2:27:42. He was fifth in the T12 5000m at London 2012 with an Asian record of 14:48.59 having placed eighth at Beijing 2008. He was fifth in the 10,000m at the 2011 Worlds and sixth in the 5000m and 800m. He was sixth at 1500m and seventh at 5000m in 2013. An illness at birth led to the removal of his right eye and loss of vision in his left. He lives in Kyotanabe.

Yutaka Kumagai: The defending champion. He won by more than three minutes last year in 2:33:24. He was fifth in the 2015 Marathon World Championships in 2:37:48 behind his compatriots Horikoshi and Masahiro Okamura. He ran his PB in Hofu City last December to rank No. 2 in the world. He won a 5000m bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Para Games and was 10th in the T13 5000m at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. Born without an iris in either eye (a condition known as aniridia), he began running at school and later attended Takaoka University of Law.

Shinya Wada: He ran a PB of 2:32:11 in Fukuoka last December to rank world No.1 for 2016. He was the T11 marathon silver medallist at the 2013 Worlds, improving from bronze in 2011. He was fifth in the T12 marathon at the London 2012 Paralympics and again at Rio 2016. He won a 5000m bronze in 2012 and was sixth last summer. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at high school, he began running in 2006. He is married with two children. He is in charge of braille services at the Osaka Visually Impaired Welfare Association library.

Gabriel Macchi: He was third in the IPC World Cup in 2013 and 2014 clocking 2:37:23 in 2013. He won another bronze at the 2013 World Championships and was sixth at the 2015 Worlds in 2:38:11. He was sixth in the Rio 2016 marathon after finishing sixth at London 2012 and 14th in Beijing 2008. He ranked ninth in the world last year. Argentine-born, he now teaches in Fundão in central Portugal. He took up running in 2006 aged 31 after developing developed juvenile glaucoma. He is married to Paula Ramos and they have a daughter, Patricia, and son, Diego.

Masahiro Taniguchi: He ran his PB in Hofu City last December to rank world No.2 for T11s in 2016. He was fifth in three events at the 2013 Worlds – 1500m, 5000m and marathon – and fourth and fifth in the first two at the 2015 Worlds. He took up the sport in his first year at the University of Tsukuba’s special needs school for the blind having had his right eye removed due to retinoblastoma at birth. He lost vision in his left at two. He lives in Kobe.

Sandi Novak: He was eighth in the Rio Paralympic marathon having finished 14th at the 2015 Worlds. He was seventh in the T11 marathon at the 2013 Worlds and fourth in the 5000m at the 2014 Europeans. He clocked a PB of 2:40:02 in Dubai last January to rank No.3 in the world for T11s in 2016. He lost his sight in an accident in 2004 while celebrating the marriage of a friend. He then devoted himself to marathon running while at a rehabilitation centre recovering from the accident. He missed out on the London Paralympics despite having the B qualifying time.


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Joaquim Machado: The 2013 world bronze medallist in the T11 marathon was fourth in the World Cup last year in 2:44:26 to rank fourth in the world for T11s. He was fifth in 2014 and seventh in 2013. He was eighth in the T12 marathon at London 2012 in 2:43:17 and ran 2:44:02 to finish eighth in the 2015 Marathon World Championships and rank No.1 in the world for 2015. He worked as a carpenter until he lost his vision at 29.

Jorge Pina: He was was third in last year’s World Cup in 2:42:19 to rank eighth in the world for T12s in 2016. He went on to place seventh in the Rio Paralympics marathon having been disqualified at the end of the London 2012 race when his guide crossed the line ahead of him. He was fourth at the 2013 World Championships, sixth at the 2014 World Cup and 10th at the 2015 Marathon World Championships. He was a national boxing champion several times and became visually impaired aged 30 after suffering retina damage during a sparring bout in 2006. When doctors told him of the diagnosis, the first thing he asked was, “Can I run?” He set up his own club, the Associacao Jorge Pina, to help disadvantaged people. The club’s motto is ‘Peace, Harmony and Inclusion’.

Masato Hatate: He was sixth in last year’s World Cup in 2:48:36 having finished 13th at the 2015 Marathon World Championships. He ran his PB in the 2011 Fukuchiyama Marathon. He was diagnosed with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy in his left eye when he was serving in the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 2002. Later his right eye was affected. He lives in Sapporo and teaches at the University of Tsukuba.

Satoru Yoneoka: He was ranked seventh in the world last year for T11s with 2:50:47 from Oita last February. That was only eight seconds outside his PB, which was run in Tsuchiura City in 2015. He was 12th in last year’s World Cup. Nicknamed ‘Yonechan’, he began the sport at 20 and has also competed in para-triathlon at international level. He sustained retinal detachment aged 10.

Yap Tien-Fung: He lives in Mainz and runs for the Die Laufpartner club. He also competes in ultra-marathons and ran a 50km PB of 3:35:54 in Berlin last year.

Ralf Arnold: He lowered his PB to 2:58:59 in Hannover last April to rank 11th in the world for T11s in 2016. He was 11th at the World Cup in London two weeks later in 3:01:38. He first broke three hours with 2:59:56 to finish 16th at the 2015 Marathon World Championships. He was born in Mannheim and also competes in para-triathlon and para-cycling.

T11/12 Women

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name331 Misato Michishita JPN T12 2:59:21 40 19/01/77 MICHISHITA Jun Shida / Yuka Aoyama332 Maria Paredes Rodriguez ESP T12 2:59:22 54 15/01/63 PAREDES Lorenzo Sanches Martin RODRIGUEZ333 Edenusa de Jesus Santos Dorta BRA T12 3:03:07 38 28/07/78 SANTOS DORTA Luiz Agripino da Silva334 Mihoko Nishijima JPN T12 3:11:33 61 01/05/55 NISHIJIMA Manabu Mizobuchi / Shuichi Kagi335 Yumiko Fuji JPN T12 3:17:52 52 21/09/64 FUJI Hiroaki Hashimoto / Gaku Ueshima336 Hiroko Kondo JPN T12 3:18:05 51 08/01/66 KONDO HIsakazu Kawashima / Yohei Susuki

Biographies

Misato Michishita: The Rio Paralympic silver medallist behind Spain’s Elena Congost and 2015 World Championship bronze medallist. She was second to Paredes Rodriguez at the 2014 World Cup. She ranked No.3 in the world last year after running 3:03:42 in Oita. She was world No.1 in 2013 and 2014 and world No.2 in 2015. She lost the vision in her right eye due to an illness while at school. She took uip running to lose weight in her 20s. She lives in Dazaifu.

Maria Paredes Rodriguez: She won the IPC World Cup in both 2013 and 2014, clocking official world records on both occasions. She ran 3:17:10 in 2013 and then became the first T12 female athlete to dip under three hours in 2014 when she finished in 2:59:22. She was fourth at the 2015 World Championships and did not finish the Rio Paralympic marathon last summer. She ranked seventh in the world last year with 3:23:35 from Valencia in November. She won a bronze medal in the T12 5000m at the 2014 European Championships and was fourth in the T13 1500m last year. She worked as a nurse in Barcelona for 25 years before losing her vision in 2005 at 42 from a degenerative macular condition. She took up running to overcome depression.


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T13 Men

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name351 Patryk Lukaszewski POL T13 2:32:36 27 29/07/89 LUKASZEWSKI352 Tim Prendergast NZL T13 2:46:56 38 01/03/79 PRENDERGAST

Biographies

Patryk Lukaszewski: He clinched a silver medal in the T13 5000m at last year’s European Championships. He was also seventh in the 1500m as he was at the 2013 World Championships. He lives in Gniezno and is co-founder and vice-president of club Gniezno Biega. He has had his visual impairment since birth and took up running in 2003.

Tim Prendergast: The Athens 2004 T13 800m champion, he also won silver medals at 800m and 1500m in Sydney 2000. He was 2002 world 800m champion and 2006 silver medallist at both events. At London 2012 he was fifth at 800m in his fastest time, and sixth at 1500m. He ran his PB finishing second in last year’s World Cup to rank world No.2 for 2016. That run improved his previous best set when third at the Marathon World Championships in 2015. He clocked 2:48:34 when finishing 11th in the T11-13 race at the 2013 World Cup. He lives in Maida Vale in London and is a member of Woodford Green and Essex Ladies club. Nickamed ‘Prendo’, he began losing vision at eight and has lost 95% of his sight. His hero is Roger Bannister. He works as an athlete mentor visiting schools in England to share his story. He is married to Lisa and their son, Finn, was born in 2013. He still hopes to break 2:30 for the marathon.

Edenusa de Jesus Santos Dorta: She is the Rio Paralympic bronze medallist who ranked second in the world last year after clocking 3:03:07 in Porte Alegre last June. She is a sports teacher and lives in Rio Claro.

Mihoko Nishijima: She was second in the World Cup last year, 10 minutes behind Zheng Jin but did not finish the Rio Paralympic marathon. She was third in the 2014 World Cup and fifth in the 2015 Marathon World Championships. She set her personal best at the 2003 Osaka Ladies’ Marathon. She ranked sixth in the world last year with 3:20:42 from Hofu City. She has been running since 2000 and lives in Osaka.

Yumiko Fuji: She was third in the World Cup last year after placing sixth in the 2015 Marathon World Championships and fourth in the 2014 World Cup. She ran a personal best of 3:17:52 in Hofu City last December to rank fourth in the world for 2016. She has been running since 1999.

Hiroko Kondo: She was fifth in the Rio Paralympic marathon in 3:23:12 and ran a PB of 3:18:05 in Hofu City to rank fifth in the world for 2016. She was diagnosed with pigmentary degeneration of the retina in 2001 and began training in 2005 when her daughter entered kindergarten. She lives in Ritto and has three children. Her husband died in 2014.

China’s Zheng Jin (left) and Japan’s Mihoko Nishijima in the 2016 T11/12 race.


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Athletes with Limb Impairments

T45/46 Men

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name372 Alex Pires da Silva BRA T46 2:27:36 26 07/05/90 PIRES DA SILVA373 Efrain Sotacuro PER T46 2:30:16 26 09/10/90 SOTACURO374 Alessandro di Lello ITA T46 2:31:06 39 18/07/77 DI LELLO375 Abdelhadi El Harti MAR T46 2:31:20 27 05/08/89 EL HARTI376 Manuel Mendes POR T46 2:37:22 46 14/04/71 MENDES377 Derek Rae GBR T46 2:37:28 31 23/10/85 RAE378 Matthew Felton AUS T46 2:53:33 27 07/01/90 FELTON

Biographies

Alex Pires da Silva: He ranked second in the world last year after running 2:27:55 in Barcelona last March but failed to finish the Paralympic marathon in Rio. He ran his personal best of 2:27:36 at the 2015 Marathon World Championships in London when he was second to Abderrahman Ait Khannouch. He won two silver medals and a bronze at the 2013 World Championships, finishing second in the 1500m and 5000m, and third at 800m. He won a 1500m silver at the 2015 Worlds. Born with his left arm shorter than his right, he took up athletics in 2007, at first running cross country before moving to the roads.

Efrain Sotacuro: He ranked third in the world last year with his personal best of 2:30:16 in Seville last February. He was fourth in the Rio Paralympic marathon in 2:55:27. He took up para-athletics in 2012 after having both arms amputated in 2008. He had touched a live wire in a high-voltage tower. Nicknamed ‘Efrita’, he lives in Callao.

Alessandro di Lello: He became the T46 world champion in Lyon in 2013, a race he won by nearly 15 minutes, just three months after winning the inaugural World Cup in 2:32:06. He was beaten by 2012 Paralympic champion Tito Sena at the World Cup in 2014, was third at the 2015 World Championships in 2:31:25, just 19 seconds outside his PB, and was third again in the World Cup last year in 2:32:44 to rank fifth in the world for 2016. He ran his PB of 2:31:06 at the 2009 New York Marathon but could only finish eighth at the London Paralympics in 2:46:27, and was a non-starter in Rio. He was disabled in a motorcycle accident and began running to lose weight. He lives in Tivoli.

Abdelhadi El Harti: He was second last year in a personal best of 2:31:20 to rank fourth in the world for 2016. He did not finish the Rio Paralympic marathon. He was 26th at the 2016 Marrakech Marathon at the end of January last year. On the track he was fifth at both 1500m and 5000m at the 2013 World Championships. He was also fifth at 800m at the London 2012 Paralympics. Born in Casablanca, he now lives in Paris.

Manuel Mendes: The Paralympic bronze medallist ran a personal best of 2:37:22 to finish fourth at last year’s World Cup. He ran 2:49:51 to finish 18th at the 2014 Porto Marathon and improved to 2:44:35 at the World Championships in 2015 when he was eighth. He clocked 2:49:57 in Rio. He had his left arm amputated at the elbow after an accident with an agricultural machine aged nine. He took up the sport 10 years later because his uncle was a runner.

Derek Rae: He finished fifth at the Marathon World Championships in 2015, taking four minutes from his PB in 2:40:40, and sliced another three minutes from his best in last year’s World Cup when he was fifth in 2:37:28. He ranked eighth in the world last year but dropped out of the Rio Paralympic marathon. Formerly a joiner, he lost the use of his right arm in 2010 when his motorcycle crashed into a truck. A member of Anster Haddies Running Club in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, he has since transformed himself from an average club runner (3:15 at the 2010 Edinburgh Marathon) into a British international. He first broke 3:00 at the 2013 Edinburgh Marathon. He ran a half marathon PB of 71:56 at the Great Scottish half in Glasgow last October.

Matthew Felton: Australia’s national record holder for the T46 marathon, he broke a 22-year-old record at the 2016 Melbourne Marathon when he clocked 2:53:33. He broke 3:00 for the first time at last year’s Gold Coast marathon when he clocked 2:58:27. He is a sports and training manager for the special Olympics in Western Australia. He trains with the Front Runner Sports team in WA.


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Wheelchair Athletes

T51/52 Men

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name271 Santiago Sanz ESP T52 1:42:05 36 18/09/80 SANZ272 Ray Martin USA T52 1:48:29 23 21/01/94 MARTIN273 Rob Smith GBR T52 1:56:13 41 09/10/75 SMITH274 Cristian Torres COL T52 2:02:35 36 21/01/81 TORRES275 Mark Dobersch USA T52 2:09:18 49 23/11/67 DOBERSCH276 James Price GBR T52 2:24:03 38 22/05/78 PRICE277 Garrett Culliton IRL T52 2:26:30 46 29/04/70 CULLITON278 John McCarthy IRL T51 2:37:14 43 20/04/74 MCCARTHYNote: This race will start at 08:55 at the same time as the T53/54 wheelchair races.

Biographies

Santiago Sanz: He won four golds at the 2006 World Championships, including the marathon, and took a brace of silver and bronze medals in 2002 and 2011. He was beaten by Martin in the 2015 Marathon World Championships and in the World Cup last year. He ranked No.2 for T52s in 2016 thanks to his 1:53:38 at last October’s Oita Marathon, a race he has won six times. He won the Boston Marathon in 2014 just a week before taking the World Cup title in London. He has won the Los Angeles Marathon four times. He set his marathon PB when fourth at the Beijing Paralympics and holds the Chicago course record for T52s with 1:46:13. He was sixth in the 1500m at last September’s Paralympics. Nicknamed ‘Santi’, he began racing around his home village at 13. He contracted Charcot Marie Tooth at 18 months, first used a wheelchair at 13 and turned professional in 2003. He is a coach, a sports scientist and father to Ana and Daniela.

Ray Martin: Defending World Cup champion and 2015 world champion who beat Sanz by 32 seconds last year in 1:59:53. He ranked fourth in the world last year after clocking 1:56:02 in Chicago. He was second in the World Cup in 2014 and went on to clock a PB of 1:48:29 at that year’s Boston Marathon. He won four golds at London 2012 aged 18, at 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, and was the first man to win five titles at a World Championships when he added 1500m to his roster in Lyon 2013. He won 100m and 1500m at the 2015 Worlds in Doha, and in Rio claimed golds at 400m and 1500m. He was born with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, a skeleto-muscular impairment that restricts movement in his joints. He studies human movement at the University of Illinois.

Rob Smith: Holds British records for the T52 400m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, half marathon and marathon. He won three Dubai Marathons in a row to 2013, was beaten in 2014 despite clocking a PB and national record of 1:56:39, and won again in 2015 in another PB of 1:56:13. He ranked sixth in the world last year with 2:02:17 from Dubai. He was fourth at the World Champs in 2015. This will be his 12th London Marathon. He was third in 2014 and fourth last year in 2:12:16. A former wheelchair rugby player with the North East Bulls and GB development squad, he switched to racing in 2002 because he liked training and competing on his own. He suffered a high-level spinal cord injury in 1996 after falling 40ft down a cliff in Devon.

It left him partially paralysed in four limbs. A mechanical engineer, he set up the Active Hands company to develop gripping aids for disabled people. He is married to Johanna and lives in Leamington.

Cristian Torres: He set his PB finishing third in the World Cup last year to rank seventh in the world. He won a bronze at the 2015 World Championships while his previous best of 2:08:12 came when he was second in the Miami Marathon in February 2014. He finished sixth at 800m at London 2012 and again at the 2013 Worlds when he was also fourth at 1500m and fifth at 400m. He was seventh at 100m and 1500m, and sixth at 800m in Rio. He has a genetic condition which interrupted his limb development in the womb. Both legs were amputated at nine and he took up the sport in 2003.

Mark Dobersch: Made his marathon debut in New York in 2014 and competed in Boston in 2015. A former cross country runner and wrestler, his left leg was amputated at 15 when he got cancer. He also races triathlons.

James Price: A former GB wheelchair rugby player, Price makes his British Athletics debut in only his second marathon. He set his PB of 2:24:03 in Dubai last year. He broke his neck in a diving accident while on holiday in Majorca in 1999. He is managing director of Accessallrooms.com, providing information about wheelchair accessible hotels.

Garrett Culliton: Competed in shot, discus, javelin and pentathlon at three Paralympics and five World Championships between 1994 and 2011. He won a pentathlon silver at the 1994 Worlds, a bronze in 1998 and a discus bronze in 2006. He injured his spine playing rugby at 22. His father Gerry was capped 19 times for the Irish rugby team, while he co-founded the Irish wheelchair rugby team in 1997.

John McCarthy: He ranked second among T11s in the world last year with 2:48:29 from Dublin in October. He was fourth in the 2014 World Cup in 2:46:41. He has competed in discus, club and sprints at three Paralympics and three World Championships between 2004 and 2015. He won a Paralympic discus silver in 2004 and a club throw bronze at the 2006 Worlds. He has played wheelchair rugby for Ireland. He injured his spine in a diving accident and took up para-athletics in 1997 to aid recovery. He lives in Cork.


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T53/54 Men

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name186 Marcel Hug SUI T54 1:20:52 31 16/01/86 HUG187 Josh Cassidy CAN T54 1:18:25 32 15/11/84 CASSIDY188 Ernst van Dyk RSA T54 1:18:27 44 04/04/73 VAN DYK189 Masazumi Soejima JPN T54 1:18:50 46 31/08/70 SOEJIMA190 Kurt Fearnley AUS T54 1:18:51 36 23/03/81 FEARNLEY191 Heinz Frei SUI T53 1:20:14 59 21/01/58 FREI192 Kota Hokinoue JPN T54 1:21:14 43 30/03/74 HOKINOUE193 Rafael Botello Jimenez ESP T54 1:22:18 38 23/02/79 BOTELLO JIMENEZ194 Denis Lemeunier FRA T54 1:22:31 52 12/02/65 LEMEUNIER195 Joshua George USA T53 1:22:50 33 18/03/84 GEORGE196 Aaron Pike USA T54 1:22:55 30 04/05/86 PIKE197 Hiroyuki Yamamoto JPN T54 1:23:16 37 27/10/79 YAMAMOTO198 Kozo Kubo JPN T54 1:23:24 34 27/05/81 KUBO199 Jordi Madera ESP T53 1:23:26 37 19/01/80 MADERA200 Krige Schabort USA T54 1:24:22 53 08/09/63 SCHABORT201 Hiroki Nishida JPN T54 1:25:16 32 03/11/84 NISHIDA202 James Senbeta USA T54 1:25:23 30 19/11/86 SENBETA203 Tomoki Suzuki JPN T54 1:26:03 22 14/06/94 SUZUKI204 David Weir GBR T54 1:26:17 37 05/06/79 WEIR205 Ryota Yoshida JPN T54 1:27:38 35 28/09/81 YOSHIDA206 Sho Watanabe JPN T54 1:28:01 25 23/11/91 WATANABE207 Pierre Fairbank FRA T53 1:28:59 45 27/07/71 FAIRBANK208 Hong Suk-Man KOR T54 1:29:13 41 07/12/75 SUKMAN209 Simon Lawson GBR T53 1:29:39 34 07/06/82 LAWSON210 Patrick Monahan IRL T54 1:29:45 31 14/01/86 MONAHAN211 Lourens Molina CRC T54 1:30:12 38 02/10/78 MOLINA212 Jose Jiménez CRC T54 1:31:36 34 02/07/82 JIMENEZ213 Alex DuPont CAN T54 1:33:40 31 03/09/85 DUPONT214 Brian Siemann USA T53 1:34:00 27 07/10/89 SIEMANN215 JohnBoy Smith GBR T54 1:35:04 27 27/11/89 SMITH216 Alhassane Balde GER T54 1:35:33 31 21/12/85 BALDE217 Daniel Romanchuk USA T54 1:45:31 19 08/03/98 ROMANCHUK

PreviewMarcel Hug returns to the London Marathon seeking a third victory after edging out Australia’s course record-holder Kurt Fearnley and Britain’s six-time winner David Weir last April. Switzerland’s ‘Silver Bullet’ has dominated the men’s leaderboard in the inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wheelchair Series over the last 12 months.

His London victory came just six days after winning the Boston Marathon and the 31-year-old has been virtually unbeatable ever since, winning six out of the next seven WMM races, including the Paralympic Games marathon in Rio last September.

Hug said: “It’s been an incredible year for me which all started with wins in Boston and London last April. The London Marathon is the biggest race in the world and I’d love to win for a third time. It’s never easy though. Anything can happen in wheelchair racing and the field is stronger than ever.”

Fearnley has been Hug’s closest rival, finishing second in Rio, Chicago and New York, as well as London, and the two-time Paralympic champion is likely to be the Swiss man’s main challenger again on 23 April. South Africa’s 10-time Boston winner Ernst van Dyk will also be in the hunt. He is looking for his first London victory on his 12th appearance here.

That’s almost as many as Weir, Britain’s hero of the London 2012 Paralympics who is still striving for a record seventh win at the event that’s closest to his heart. Weir won his first London Marathon in 2002 and his sixth 10 years later, but has had to settle for second, second and third on his last three attempts.

This will be his 18th consecutive appearance and the ‘Weirwolf’ admits it is a race he would love to win one more time. “This is the race I love; it’s been in my blood since I was eight years old when I first saw it on TV,” he said. “It was the first race I ever wanted to win and to have won six is amazing. I’m not even thinking about a seventh, though. If it happens, it happens.”

Others likely to be challenging for medals include Josh Cassidy, Canada’s 2010 winner and holder of the world’s fastest time; 2015 victor and reigning world champion, Joshua George of USA; and veteran Swiss Heinz Frei, the official world record holder who has won here three times in the past.

They will all have to keep an eye on Japanese newcomer Sho Watanabe, however, after the 25-year-old inflicted a shock defeat on Hug in Tokyo this February.

There will be 65 athletes in total in the men’s race.


94 Media Guide 2017

Josh Cassidy (Canada)

Born: 15 November 1984 OttawaMarathon best: 1:18:25 Boston 2012 (world best)London Marathon record: 2010- 1st 1:35:21, 2011- 5th 1:30:56, 2012- 9th 1:33:54, 2013- dnf, 2014- 20th 1:41:58, 2015- dnf, 2016- dnfOther World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2009- 8th 1:39:48, 2012- 1st 1:18:25, 2013- 9th 1:30:54, 2014- 13th 1:27:24, 2015- 14th 1:38:24Chicago: 2003- 1st, 2004- 1st, 2006- 1st, 2011- 4th 1:29:24, 2012- 1st 1:32:58, 2013- 5th 1:33:30, 2014- 8th 1:32:20, 2016- 11th 1:36:59New York: 2006- 12th 1:51:36, 2007- 13th 1:49:29, 2008- 10th 1:53:09, 2009- 6th 1:40:46, 2010- 7th 1:42:48, 2011- 8th 1:39:30, 2013- 16th 1:52:57Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 12th 1:33:06Worlds: 2006- 40th 1:47:08, 2013- dnf, 2015- dnf

Career notesCassidy rode the quickest wheelchair marathon ever at Boston in 2012, clocking 1:18:25 (although not an official world record) and regained his Chicago title that October, his fourth in all.

He became London Marathon champion when he came from behind to beat Weir on his London debut in 2010. Cassidy was fifth in 2011 but did not finish in 2013 after colliding with Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana at the 15km drinks station. He dropped out last year and in 2015.

He holds Canadian records for every distance from 1500m to the marathon and claims to have more than 75 international medals. He represented Canada at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympics. He did not win a medal in London when he had a flu bug, but made the final of the T54 800m and 1500m before finishing 12th in the marathon. He was 10th at 5000m in Rio but went out in the heats of the 800m and 1500m. He won 1500m bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Personal notesThe eldest of 10 siblings, Cassidy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, cancer of the spine and abdomen, weeks after he was born, and given a low chance of survival.

He is a professional graphic designer and illustrator with an applied arts degree from Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. In 2015 he worked as a stuntman on the movie ‘Suicide Squad’ which was filmed in Toronto. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Marcel Hug (Switzerland)

Born: 16 January 1986 LucerneMarathon best: 1:20:52 Seoul 2013London Marathon record: 2010- 2nd 1:36:07, 2011- 11th 1:35:35, 2012- 2nd 1:32:27, 2013- 2nd 1:31:29, 2014- 1st 1:32:41, 2015- dnf, 2016- 1st 1:35:19Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2005- 2nd 1:28:33, 2006- 2nd 1:29:35, 2007- 3rd 1:32:22, 2008- 3rd 1:39:01, 2010- 3rd 1:35:58, 2011- 1st 1:29:31, 2012- 1st 1:29:43, 2013- 2nd 1:31:03, 2016- 1st 1:29:51Boston: 2013- 4th 1:28:19, 2014- 4th 1:24:39, 2015- 1st 1:29:53, 2016- 1st 1:24:06Chicago: 2015- 2nd 1:30:48, 2016- 1st 1:32:57New York: 2008- 7th 1:49:21, 2009- 3rd 1:40:43, 2011- 5th 1:38:42, 2013- 1st 1:40:14, 2014- 18th 1:37:32, 2015- 3rd 1:30:54, 2016- 1st 35:49Tokyo: 2017- 2nd 1:28:01Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- dnf, 2012- 2nd 1:30:21, 2016- 1st 1:26:16Worlds: 2006- 4th 1:29:57, 2011- dnf, 2013- 1st 1:28:44, 2015- dnf

Career notesHug won his second London Marathon last year just six days after winning the Boston Marathon. He went on to win every World Marathon Majors race in 2016, including Rio Paralympic gold, and claimed the WMM title. His unbeaten run ended in Tokyo this February when he was narrowly beaten by Japan’s Sho Watanabe.

He won his first London crown in 2014 but was forced to drop out in 2015 on Tower Bridge, losing his world title in the process. He won the New York Marathon in 2013, the first Swiss to do so, and was second to Frei in Berlin that year having won there in 2011 and 2012. In Padua 2008 he recorded the second fastest ‘legal’ time which he improved in Seoul in 2013 to 1:20:52. His 1:24:06 in Boston ranked No.1 in the world for 2016.

At the 2011 World Championships he won the 10,000m title and he added golds at 400m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon in 2013. He won silver and bronze at the 2015 Doha Worlds having taken three golds at the 2014 Europeans. He won 800m and marathon titles in Rio, and silvers at 1500m and 5000m.

Personal notesHug was born with spina bifida and started competing at 10. He is prominent in the Cool and Clean campaign. Nicknamed the ‘Silver Bullet’ due to his helmet, he lives in Neuenkirch and is coached by Paul Odermatt.


Media Guide 2017 95

Ernst van Dyk (South Africa)

Born: 4 April 1973 Ceres, Western CapeMarathon best: 1:18:27 Boston 2004London Marathon record: 2000 2nd- 1:41:53, 2006- dnf, 2007- 4th 1:33:46, 2008- 6th 1:34:25, 2009- 3rd 1:28:58, 2010- 6th 1:44:11, 2012- 11th 1:36:20, 2013- 3rd 1:31:30, 2014- 3rd 1:32:42, 2015- 5th 1:31:38, 2016- 4th 1:35:23Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016- 2nd 1:29:53Boston: 2001- 1st 1:25:12, 2002- 1st 1:23:19, 2003- 1st 1:28:32, 2004- 1st 1:18:27, 2005- 1st 1:24:11, 2006- 1st 1:25:29, 2007- 3rd 1:37:10, 2008- 1st 1:26:49, 2009- 1st 1:33:29, 2010- 1st 1:26:53 2011- 3rd 1:18:51, 2012- 6th 1:24:23, 2013- 2nd 1:27:12, 2014- 1st 1:20:36 2015- 2nd 1:36:27, 2016- 2nd 1:24:06Chicago: 2013- 1st 1:30:37, 2014- 3rd 1:32:13, 2015- 4th 1:30:50, 2016- 6th 1:33:02New York: 2005- 1st, 2013- 2nd 1:40:14, 2014- 2nd 1:30:56, 2015- 1st 1:30:54, 2016- 4th 1:40:08Tokyo: 2016- 2nd 1:26:01, 2017- 9th 1:30:15Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2000- 4th 1:31:44, 2004- 18th 1:41:59, 2008- 3rd 1:23:17, 2016- 6th 1:30:11Worlds: 2015- 5th 1:31:38

Career notesErnst van Dyk won six Boston Marathons in a row to 2006, and in 2004 clocked what was the fastest marathon ever until Cassidy beat it in 2012. He has won 10 Boston titles altogether. He won the Chicago Marathon in 2013, was third there in 2014 and won New York in 2015 after two runner-up places. He was runner-up to Hug in Boston and Berlin last year. He is yet to win in London in 11 appearances although he has made the podium four times.

At the Athens Paralympics van Dyk won two silvers and a bronze while in Beijing he won marathon bronze having taken gold in the handcycle road race two days before, a title he retained at London 2012 and in Rio.

Personal notesBorn without lower legs because of congenital birth defects, van Dyk was a swimmer in his teens before he took up wheelchair racing. He competed in both sports at the 1992 Paralympics and in Beijing added handcycling. He is a Paralympics ambassador and owns a para-sports equipment company. He is married to Suzanne and his daughters are Lexi and Sunei. They live in Paarl.

Masazumi Soejima (Japan)

Born: 31 August 1970 NagasakiMarathon best: 1:18:50 Boston 2011London Marathon record: 2009- 4th 1:30:13, 2010- 7th 1:44:35, 2012- 4th 1:32:29, 2015- 3rd 1:31:33, 2016- 12th 1:38:35Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2007- 1st 1:26:50, 2008- 2nd 1:28:39, 2009- 2nd 1:31:41, 2010- 1st 1:28:46Boston: 2007- 1st 1:29:16, 2008- 3rd 1:33:00, 2009- 2nd 1:36:57, 2010- 4th 1:28:06, 2011- 1st 1:18:50, 2012- 4th 1:23:27, 2013- 6th 1:30:01, 2014- 3rd 1:21:14, 2015- 3rd 1:36:28, 2016- 6th 1:27:31Chicago: 2008- 2nd 1:32:30, 2009- 2nd 1:32:30, 2010- 2nd 1:28:01, 2014- 9th 1:32:21New York: 2007- 3rd 1:36:16, 2008- 2nd 1:46:10, 2009- 7th 1:43:42, 2010- 2nd 1:37:31, 2011- 1st 1:31:41, 2014- 4th 1:30:57, 2016- 14th 1:47:53Tokyo: 2007- 1st 1:32:21, 2008- 1st 1:27:15, 2009- 1st 1:33:07, 2011- 1st 1:25:38, 2015- 4th 1:32:06, 2016- 4th 1:26:02Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 12th 1:23:55, 2012- 4th 1:30:24, 2016- 11th 1:30:13Worlds: 2006- 3rd 1:28:22, 2011- 3rd 1:31:10, 2015- 3rd 1:31:33

Career notesSoejima became the second fastest wheelchair racer ever when he won the Boston Marathon in 2011 by a second from Kurt Fearnley and Ernst van Dyk. He had ended van Dyk’s streak of six wins there in 2007. He was third in 2014 and 2015, as he was in London two years ago when he picked up his third marathon world bronze medal. He ranked seventh in the world last year with 1:25:45 from Seoul.

The Japanese record holder, he has won the Berlin Marathon twice, New York in 2011 and Tokyo a record five times. He was 11th at Rio 2016 having been fourth at London 2012 and 12th in Bejing. He made the 1500m semi-finals in Beijing and won a bronze in the 4x400m relay in Athens in 2004.

Personal notesSoejima damaged his spine in an accident and started marathon racing in 1995. He was appointed wheelchair race director of the Tokyo Marathon in June 2015. He runs Soejimart, an online shop selling athletics clothing and merchandise, and founded wheelchair athletics club Socio Soejima. He lives in Fukuoka with his wife and coach, Miyuki.


96 Media Guide 2017

Kurt Fearnley (Australia)

Born: 23 March 1981 Cowra, New South Wales Marathon best: 1:18:51 Boston 2011London Marathon record: 2007- 2nd 1:30:59, 2008- 2nd 1:34:00, 2009- 1st 1:28:56, 2010- 5th 1:41:37, 2013- 1st 1:31:29, 2016- 2nd 1:35:20Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2011- 2nd 1:18:51, 2012- 2nd 1:21:39, 2015- 16th 1:46:25, 2016- 3rd 1:24:06Chicago: 2007- 1st 1:28:47, 2008- 1st 1:30:16, 2009- 1st 1:29:09, 2015- 1st 1:30:46, 2016- 2nd 1:32:58New York: 2005- 3rd 1:31:45, 2006- 1st 1:29:22, 2007- 1st 1:33:58, 2008- 1st 1:44:51, 2009- 1st 1:35:58, 2014- 1st 1:30:55, 2015- 5th 1:35:21, 2016- 2nd 1:35:49Tokyo: 2016- 1st 1:26:00Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2000- 21st 1:38:02, 2004- 1st 1:25:37, 2008- 1st 1:23:17, 2012- 3rd 1:30:21Worlds: 2006- 1st 1:28:17, 2011- 1st 1:31:09

Career notesFearnley set the London Marathon course record in 2009 when he avenged two narrow defeats to Weir in 2007 and 2008. He won again in 2013 and was second to Hug last year as he was in Chicago and New York, and at the Rio Paralympics where he added silver to his bronze from London 2012 and golds from 2004 and 2008. He won the world marathon title in 2006 and 2011.

He won 10 of 11 marathons in 2007, setting five course records. He had an outstanding year in 2006 too, winning two major city titles and beating Heinz Frei at the Worlds where he also won gold at 800m and 5000m. He has won a record five New York titles. In 2015 he won his fourth Chicago crown, and he was on top at last year’s Tokyo Marathon where he beat van Dyk in 1:26:00.

On the track at London 2012 he took silver in the 5000m and bronze in 2016. He was fourth at that distance at the 2015 Worlds. He has a Commonwealth Games gold at 1500m from 2010 and silver from 2014.

Personal notesFearnley is the youngest of five children. He has a congenital disorder, sacral agenesis, which means he was born without a lower spine. He wears lucky underwear in every marathon. He is married to Sheridan and has a son, Harry. They live in Newcastle, New South Wales. He is coached by Andrew Dawes. He was elected to the IPC Athletes’ Council last September.

Heinz Frei (Switzerland)

Born: 21 January 1958 OberbippMarathon best: 1:20:14 Oita 1999 (world record)London Marathon record: 1992- 3rd 1:51:58, 1995- 1st 1:39:14, 1998- 1st 1:35:18, 1999- 1st 1:35:27, 2008- 5th 1:34:03, 2009- 5th 1:30:15, 2011- 2nd 1:30:07, 2012- 5th 1:32:30, 2013- 7th 1:31:32 2014- 7th 1:35:05, 2015- 9th 1:33:23Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 1st 20 times, 2011- 2nd 1:29:32, 2012- 2nd 1:29:48, 2013- 1st 1:31:00, 2014- 2nd 1:36:12, 2016- 5th 1:29:54Boston: 2013- 12th 1:33:07Chicago: 2010- 1st 1:26:56, 2011- 2nd 1:29:23, 2013- 4th 1:30:41, 2014- 10th 1:32:22New York: 2011- 4th 1:37:24, 2014- 13th 1:34:31Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 1984- 1st 1:58:52, 1988- 4th 1:48:20, 1992- 1st 1:30:15, 1996- 3rd 1:32:42, 2000- 3rd 1:29:29, 2004- 7th 1:32:04, 2008- 14th 1:25:43, 2012- 11th 1:33:06, 2016- 17th 1:40:29Worlds: 1994- 1st, 1998- 1st 1:32:25, 2002- 1st 1:27:58, 2006- 2nd 1:28:17, 2011- 2nd 1:31:09, 2013- 4th 1:32:27, 2015- 9th 1:33:23

Career notesHeinz Frei has won more than 100 marathons in his long career, including 20 in Berlin and 14 in Oita, where he broke the official world record 18 years ago and clocked 1:29:30 last year to rank world No.1 among T53s at age 59. He won the London Marathon three times in the 1990s, was second to Weir in 2011 by two seconds and ninth on his last appearance in 2015. Rio was his ninth Paralympics. He won the marathon title in 1984 and 1992, was third in 1996 and 2000, and 17th last year. He was world champion three times from 1994 to 2002.

Frei has broken numerous world records from 400m to marathon, and recorded a world best for 100km in 1998. He has won 15 Paralympic gold medals (35 medals in all) in 32 years – 11 in athletics, three as a handcyclist and one in cross country skiing.

Personal notesFrei was paralysed in a sports accident in 1975 and took up wheelchair racing in 1980. Nicknamed ‘the Godfather’, he now concentrates on handcycling and winter sports. He also coaches young athletes. He is married to Rita and his children are Jan and Tamara.


Media Guide 2017 97

Kota Hokinoue (Japan)

Born: 30 March 1974 Izuka, Fukuoka PrefectureMarathon best: 1:21:14 Boston 2014London Marathon record: 2010- 4th 1:40:59, 2011- dnf, 2012- 10th 1:36:00, 2013- 6th 1:31:31 2014- 4th 1:32:43, 2015- 7th 1:32:22, 2016- 8th 1:35:37Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2010- 2nd 1:30:08, 2014- 1st 1:32:25, 2015- 3rd 1:30:39, 2016- 13th 1:41:08Boston: 2009- 9th 1:46:45, 2010- 3rd 1:27:05, 2012- 3rd 1:23:26, 2013- 3rd 1:27:13, 2014- 2nd 1:21:14, 2015- 4th 1:36:29Chicago: 2014- 5th 1:32:16, 2015- 8th 1:30:57New York: 2010- 6th 1:42:44, 2013- 5th 1:40:16, 2014- 5th 1:30:57, 2016- 9th 1:33:13Tokyo: 2011- 2nd, 2012- 2nd 1:29:31, 2013- 3rd 1:34:42, 2014- 3rd 1:34:45, 2015- 1st 1:30:23, 2016- 3rd 1:26:01, 2017- 6th 1:28:03Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 5th 1:23:22, 2012- 6th 1:31:13, 2016- 7th 1:30:11Worlds: 2006- 9th 1:32:26, 2011- 4th 1:31:10, 2013- 3rd 1:32:27, 2015- 7th 1:32:22

Career notesHokinoue broke the Japanese record in 2011 when he clocked 1:22:01 finishing second in Oensingen, and he lowered it again in Boston in April 2014 when he was second in 1:21:14, ranking second in the world below van Dyk. Just two weeks earlier he had finished fourth at the London Marathon, his highest place in six attempts, and he went on to win the 2014 Berlin Marathon and the 2015 Tokyo Marathon. He ranked eighth in the world in 2016 with 1:26:01 from Tokyo.

He picked up a world bronze medal in Lyon in 2013 when he finished just ahead of Frei. He has placed fifth, sixth and seventh in the last three Paralympic marathons. He was fifth in the 5000m at Beijing 2008.

An experienced track racer over distances from 400m to 10,000m, Hokinoue set Japanese records at 5000m and 10,000m in 2010.

Personal notes‘Hokki’ injured his spine in a motorcycle accident in March 2000 and began wheelchair racing in 2002 when a friend suggested he give it a go.

He founded a wheelchair racing team called Team Blue Tag 2 Arm Drive. His heroes are Marcel Hug and David Weir. He is married and lives in Nogata.

Rafael Botello Jimenez (Spain)

Born: 23 February 1979 Vic, BarcelonaMarathon best: 1:22:18 Padua 2007London Marathon record: 2008- 9th 1:37:26, 2009- 8th 1:37:38, 2010- 12th 2:14:22, 2012- 15th 1:40:01, 2013- 21st 1:45:27, 2014- 13th 1:36:45, 2015- 29th 1:54:23, 2016- 11th 1:38:35Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2005- 8th, 2006- 7th, 2012- 3rd 1:32:54, 2016- 8th 1:34:15Boston: 2009- 6th 1:38:52, 2010- 6th 1:31:12, 2011- 5th 1:25:14, 2012- 12th 1:36:56, 2013- 13th 1:35:28, 2014- 12th 1:26:57, 2015- 13th 1:44:27Chicago: 2009- 4th 1:39:56, 2010- 3rd 1:28:46, 2012- 3rd 1:28:46, 2013- 6th 1:33:40, 2014- 19th 1:49:57, 2015- 11th 1:30:59, 2016- 11th 1:37:21New York: 2006- 10th, 2007- 9th, 2008- 12th 1:57:21, 2009- 8th 1:43:42, 2010- 9th 1:47:39, 2011- 10th 1:42:30, 2013- 11th 1:46:43, 2015- 11th 1:39:22, 2016- 12th 1:46:44Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 11th 1:23:53, 2012- 9th 1:33:05Worlds: 2006- dnf, 2011- 13th 1:34:27, 2015- 29th 1:54:23

Career notesBotello finished ninth on his London debut in 2008, one of five top 10 finishes that year to go with his 11th place at the Beijing Paralympic marathon. He improved by one place in 2009 but suffered flat tyres in 2010 and 2013, and has struggled to make an impact in the last three years. He finished in the top 10 in the London Paralympic marathon but did not race in Rio. He was third in Chicago in 2010 and 2012. His best WMM place last year was eighth in Berlin but he won the Paris Marathon and was second in Los Angeles and at the Grandma’s Marathon.

The Spaniard set his PB in Padua in 2007, a time that makes him the third fastest European ever on a ‘legal’ course behind Swiss pair Heinz Frei and Marcel Hug. He holds Spanish records for the mile and 10,000m on the track, and at 5km, 10km and marathon on the road. He represented Spain over 5000m at London 2012 and at 1500m and 5000m at the 2015 Worlds.

Personal notes‘Rafa’ Botello lives in Melilla. He has a dorsal spinal cord injury as a result of a bicycle accident in 2002. He began wheelchair athletics in 2003 and entered his first official competition in June that year. He also competes for Spain at triathlon and cycling. He organises the Lanzarote Marathon and the Cali half in Colombia.


98 Media Guide 2017

Denis Lemeunier (France)

Born: 12 February 1965 ToursMarathon best: 1:22:31 Padua 2007London Marathon record: 1998- 3rd 1:44:03, 1999- 4th 1:45:32, 2001- 1st 1:42:37, 2002- 3rd 1:42:37, 2003- 3rd 1:34:50, 2005- 6th 1:36:04, 2008- 3rd 1:34:01, 2009- 6th 1:32:40, 2010- dnf, 2011- 9th 1:31:01, 2013- 10th 1:36:34, 2014- 14th 1:38:01, 2015- 15th 1:38:33, 2016- 19th 1:38:42Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016- 7th 1:31:28Boston: 2004- 5th 1:26:05, 2013- 7th 1:30:53, 2014- 11th 1:26:57, 2015- 12th 1:44:11, 2016- 12th 1:37:03New York: 2007- 8th, 2008- 9th 1:52:11, 2009- 13th 1:51:31, 2010- 10th 1:48:04, 2011- 9th 1:41:11, 2013- 13th 1:46:46, 2014- 8th 1:33:36, 2015- 13th 1:39:27, 2016- 13th 1:46:46Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2004- 14th 1:37:41, 2008- dnf, 2012- 14th 1:33:07Worlds: 2011- dnf, 2013- 7th 1:36:59, 2015- 15th 1:38:33

Career notesThe 2001 London Marathon champion has raced here 14 times since 1998. He finished third four times, including in 2008 when he was five seconds behind winner Weir. He has been outside the top 10 on his last three appearances.

A veteran of the roads (he claims to have completed more than 90 marathons), he failed to finish at the 2011 World Championships or the 2008 Paralympics, but was 14th in Athens 2004 and London 2012, and seventh at the Lyon Worlds in 2013. His best place in last year’s WMM races was seventh in Berlin. His best time in 2016 was 1:29:39 in Seoul which ranked him 20th on the world year list.

He was fifth in the 1500m at the Beijing Paralympics and won a bronze in the 4x400m. He competed over 5000m at London 2012 but did not race in Rio.

Personal notesLemeunier was a cyclist for 12 years before he had a motocross accident in 1995. He began wheelchair racing at 30. He is married with two daughters, Typhaine and Meva.

His father-in-law, Francois Hamon, was a cyclist in the 1960 Olympics and 1964 Tour de France. Lemeunier is also a councillor for the town of Taule.

Joshua George (United States)

Born: 18 March 1984 Fairfax, VirginiaMarathon best: 1:22:50 Duluth 2012London Marathon record: 2008- 7th 1:34:46, 2010- 9th 1:46:57, 2012- 14th 1:39:56, 2013- 17th 1:39:10, 2014- 10th 1:35:08, 2015- 1st 1:31:31, 2016- 17th 1:38:40Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2007- 10th 2:02:58, 2009- 5th 1:38:23, 2010- 8th 1:35:44, 2013- 18th 1:37:41, 2014- 6th 1:24:49, 2015- 6th 1:38:15, 2016- 10th 1:34:19Chicago: 2002- 4th 1:56:49, 2003- 1st 1:41:01, 2004- 1st 1:36:13, 2005- 5th 1:40:30, 2006- 1st 1:38:31, 2008- 7th 1:38:59, 2010- 9th 1:42:47, 2011- 3rd 1:29:33, 2012- 3rd 1:36:06, 2013- 3rd 1:30:38, 2014- 1st 1:32:12, 2015- 3rd 1:30:48, 2016- 3rd 1:32:59New York: 2007- 6th 1:38:06, 2008- 11th 1:54:30, 2009- 10th 1:44:22, 2011- 7th 1:39:02, 2013- 10th 1:46:43, 2014- 7th 1:33:09, 2015- 2nd 1:50:55, 2016- 3rd 1:39:01Tokyo: 2017- 5th 1:28:03Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 17th 1:30:29, 2012- 20th 1:39:56, 2016- dnfWorlds: 2013- 5th 1:32:28, 2015- 1st 1:31:31

Career notesGeorge won the London Marathon in 2015 and took his first world title with it, beating Weir to the line. He went on to finish third in Chicago and second in New York that year. He was third in both races last autumn, clocking 1:32:59 to rank sixth in the world in 2016. He won his hometown Chicago Marathon four times between 2003 and 2014. In 2012, he lowered his personal best to 1:22:50, breaking the course record in Duluth where he won again in 2015.

He broke the Paralympic T53 100m record to become the 2008 champion. He also took 800m silver in Beijing. He competed in six events at London 2012, winning bronze in the T53 800m, his fifth Paralympic medal, and in five events in Rio, placing fifth at 800m and 5000m. He won four T53 golds at the 2006 Worlds and was fifth in the marathon in Lyon 2013.

Personal notesGeorge became disabled aged four when he fell more than 36 metres (120 feet) out of a 12th floor window. He landed on his feet, but was paralysed from the waist down. He was described as a ‘living miracle’ by doctors.He played wheelchair basketball for USA at the 2006 World Championships and won gold at the 2008 ParaPan Games. He works for wheelchair component manufacturer Intelliwheels in Champaign where he lives.


Media Guide 2017 99

Aaron Pike (United States)

Born: 4 May 1986 Park Rapids, MinnesotaMarathon best:1:22:55 Duluth 2012London Marathon record: 2013- 20th 1:44:24, 2015- 26th 1:50:47, 2016- 7th 1:35:33Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2009- 10th 1:47:10, 2010- 11th 1:38:17, 2011- 8th 1:29:52, 2012- 10th 1:32:45, 2013- 19th 1:39:13, 2015- 17th 1:46:26, 2016- 8th 1:28:35Chicago: 2009- 8th 1:48:31, 2010- 6th 1:36:04, 2011- 6th 1:38:56, 2014- 7th 1:32:19, 2015- 7th 1:30:54, 2016- 5th 1:33:01New York: 2014- 20th 1:39:27, 2015- 8th 1:36:45, 2016- 8th 1:43:40Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 16th 1:36:26, 2016- 10th 1:30:13Worlds: 2011- 19th 1:40:53

Career notesPike followed Joshua George under the Grandma’s Marathon course record in Duluth in 2012 to qualify for London 2012, where he was 16th. He made his London Marathon debut in 2013 and finished 20th. He was seventh last year when he also finished in the top 10 at Boston, Chicago and New York. He has been in the top 10 four times in Boston and six times in Chicago where he was fifth last October.

His best time last year was 1:28:07 in Duluth which placed him 15th in the T54 rankings for 2016.

After just missing a spot on the 2008 Paralympic team, he qualified for London 2012 to compete in four events – the 1500m, 5000m, marathon and 4x400m relay. He competed at 1500m and marathon in Rio having raced at 1500m and 5000m at the 2015 Worlds in Doha.

Personal notesPike suffered a spinal cord injury in December 1999 at 13 when he was accidentally shot during a deer-hunting trip in Virginia. He was introduced to wheelchair racing by Ironman triathlete Carlos Moleda, a legendary wheelchair racer.

He took up para-Nordic skiing in 2012 and competed in biathlon and cross country skiing at the 2014 Winter Paralympics and the 2014/15 World Championships.

He has a sociology degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and now lives in Bozeman, Minnesota. He was recruited to play wheelchair basketball for the university and has competed internationally in that sport.

Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Japan)

Born: 27 October 1979 KitakyushuMarathon best: 1:23:16 Seoul 2011London Marathon record: 2010- 13th 2:16:39, 2011- 13th 1:43:39, 2012- 8th 1:33:00, 2013- 8th 1:31:33, 2014- 12th 1:36:45, 2015- 18th 1:43:29, 2016- dnfOther World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2013- 3rd 1:34:28Boston: 2013- 1st 1:25:32, 2014- 8th 1:25:15, 2015- 7th 1:39:36, 2016- 7th 1:28:16New York: 2013- 9th 1:45:23, 2014- 9th 1:33:53Tokyo: 2011- 3rd 1:30:15, 2012- 1st 1:29:26, 2013- 2nd 1:29:07, 2014- 1st 1:30:43, 2015- 7th 1:37:01, 2016- 7th 1:29:13, 2017- 8th 1:28:23Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 6th 1:23:22, 2012- 22nd 1:40:54, 2016- 12th 1:30:14Worlds: 2006- dnf, 2011- 21st 1:42:31, 2015- 18th 1:43:29

Career notesThe 2013 Boston and 2014 Tokyo champion was ranked No. 2 in the world in 2015 after clocking 1:25:02 in Oita. He has not had good luck in London. He finished 13th on his first two attempts, getting flat tyres in both 2010 and 2011. On his debut, he punctured twice. He got a flat again in 2011 and dropped out at half way last year. He was in an eight-man sprint for the line in 2013, finishing eighth, four seconds behind the winner.

He regained the Tokyo Marathon title in February 2014 after winning it first in 2012 and finishing second in 2013. He also won in Osaka and was second in Oita in 2012 while he was third in Berlin in 2013. He shaved six seconds off his personal best in 2011 when he was third in the Seoul Marathon in 1:23:16. His best 2016 time was 1:26:02 in Oita to rank ninth in the world.

At the Beijing Paralympics he was just five seconds behind gold medallist Kurt Fearnley in sixth place, but he could only finish 22nd in London and 12th in Rio.

He was 10th over 5000m at London 2012 but did not make the final of the 1500m. He broke the Japanese half marathon record in Hokkaido in 2015.

Personal notesYamamoto injured his spinal cord in a motorcycle accident at 20. He took up wheelchair marathons at 30. He is married and has one son. They live in Fukuoka.

His nickname is ‘Hiro-san’. He always eats a specially made Italian pizza before leaving Japan for an international race.


100 Media Guide 2017

Jordi Madera (Spain)

Born: 19 January 1980 GranollersMarathon best: 1:23:26 Beijing 2008London Marathon record: 2011- 10th 1:34:41, 2012- 13th 1:36:56, 2013- 11th 1:36:34, 2014- 6th 1:35:05, 2015- 8th 1:33:22Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2011- 12th 1:46:46Boston: 2010- 7th 1:33:08, 2013- 8th 1:30:54, 2014- 5th 1:24:42, 2015- 9th 1:41:40Chicago: 2013- 6th 1:33:40, 2015- 6th 1:30:53New York: 2013- 12th 1:46:44, 2014- 10th 1:34:08, 2015- 7th 1:35:38Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 8th 1:23:26, 2016- 8th 1:30:12Worlds: 2006- 12th, 2011- 15th 1:36:40, 2015- 8th 1:33:22

Career notesMadera achieved his highest finish in four London Marathon appearances in 2014, finishing sixth in 1:35:05 after being outside the top 10 in the previous two years. He was eighth in 2015 in his quickest London time so far, placing 20th in the year’s rankings, but did not start last year.

He won marathons in Barcelona and Seville in 2011, was second in Duluth, seventh in Paris and 12th in Berlin. He made the top 10 in Boston, Chicago and New York in 2015.

He was 15th at the 2011 World Championships, more than five and a half minutes behind the winner, having finished eighth at the Paralympics in 2008 when he produced his PB. He was eighth again in Rio in 1:30:12 to rank 23rd in the world. He also competed over 5000m in Rio.

He was 14th over 5000m at the Paralympics in Beijing, but did not compete at London 2012 or the 2013 Worlds. He was 12th at both 1500m and 5000m at the 2015 Worlds.

His first international was the European Championships in 2005 when he also competed in the Mediterranean Games. He took part in world indoor and outdoor championships in 2006.

Personal notesHis full name is Jorge Madera Jimenez. He is one of four children. He injured his back in a car accident when he was a child and started para-athletics aged nine. He lives in Les Franqueses del Vallès.

Kozo Kubo (Japan)

Born: 27 May 1981 Marathon best: 1:23:24London Marathon record: 2015- 26th 1:50:58Other World Marathon MajorsTokyo: 2017- 12th 1:37:32Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- 18th 1:46:31Worlds: 2006- 32nd 1:42:41, 2013- dnf, 2015- 26th 1:50:58

Career notesKozo Kubo was 26th in the London Marathon in 2015 when he was not part of the elite field. He went on to place 18th in Rio last year where he also raced over 5000m.

He contested the marathon at the 2006 World Championships where he was 32nd but took up para-skiing in 2008 and didn’t return to athletics until the 2013 Worlds in Lyon when he dropped out of the marathon.

He competed in biathlon and cross country skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010 and 2014. He won bronze in the biathlon 7.5km sitting event at the 2014 Games in Sochi. He also won two bronze medals at cross country at the 2012/13 Worlds.

His best marathon time in 2016 was 1:29:24 from Oita. He ranked 18th in the world. He was 12th at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in February.

Personal notesKubo sustained spinal cord injuries in a traffic accident when he was a child. He switched from para-athletics to para-skiing in 2008, but returned to para-athletics after he had competed at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

He is married to Haruna and they have one son and one daughter. They live in Abashiri.


Media Guide 2017 101

Hiroki Nishida (Japan)

Born: 3 November 1984 IzumiMarathon best: 1:25:16 Oita 2015London Marathon record: 2015- 17th 1:41:48, 2016- 6th 1:35:32Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016 - 3rd 1:29:53Boston: 2016- 9th 1:32:34New York: 2016- 11th 1:40:16Tokyo: 2015- 6th 1:33:23, 2016- 6th 1:26:43, 2017- 7th 1:28:12Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2013- 10th 1:37:34, 2015- 17th 1:41:48

Career notesHiroki Nishida improved from 17th at the Marathon World Championships here in 2015 to place sixth last year, only 11 seconds outside a medal place. He was the top Japanese finisher but raced as an invited athlete, not part of the IPC Marathon World Cup.

He had placed ninth in Boston six days earlier and went on to finish third in Berlin behind Marcel Hug and Ernst van Dyk.

He finished sixth at the Tokyo Marathon in 2015 and 2016, and was seventh this year.

He was 10th at the 2013 World Championships in 1:37:34 and 17th two years later. He ranked fourth in the world in 2015 for T54s with his personal best of 1:25:16 from the Oita Marathon. He clocked 1:26:11 in Oita last year to rank 11th in the world for 2016.

Personal notesHe injured his spinal cord in a bicycling accident in 2004 leaving him paralysed in both legs. He began wheelchair racing in 2006.

He is nicknamed ‘Doka’ because, before his accident he was a baseball catcher and resembled Dokaben, a famous anime baseball character.

He lives in Izumi.

Krige Schabort (United States)

Born: 8 September 1963Marathon best: 1:24:22 Boston 2011London Marathon record: 2008- 4th 1:34:02, 2012- 3rd 1:32:28, 2014- 15th 1:38:01Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2008- 2nd 1:30:39, 2009- 4th 1:38:06, 2010- 2nd 1:26:56, 2011- 4th 1:24:22, 2013- 11th 1:31:47Chicago: 2008- 3rd 1:36:21, 2013- 8th 1:35:21New York: 2001- dnf, 2002- 1st 1:38:27, 2003- 1st 1:32:19, 2004- 2nd 1:33:19, 2005- 4th 1:33:16, 2006- 13th 1:47:48, 2007- 2nd 1:35:08, 2008- 6th 1:49:06, 2009- 2nd 1:35:58, 2010- 4th 1:39:37, 2011- 14th 1:46:39, 2013- 6th 1:42:25, 2016- 7th 1:40:16Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 1992- 3rd 1:30:23, 1996- 9th 1:37:27, 2000- 2nd 1:29:28, 2004- 15th 1:39:53, 2012- 10th 1:33:05Worlds: 2002- 2nd 1:28:33, 2006- 7th 1:29:58

Career notesThe former World and Paralympic marathon silver medallist returns to London for the first time since 2014 when he was 15th. He was third in 2012 and fourth in 2008. He won the New York title in 2002 and 2003 and has finished second in Boston and third in Chicago in more recent years. He was seventh in New York last year.

He shaved seconds from his PB when he was fourth in Boston in 2011. He also won the Honolulu, Los Angeles and Walt Disney marathons that year, and took gold in the Ironman World Championship with a course record. He was inducted into the Honolulu Hall of Fame in 2004 for winning seven Honolulu Marathons in a row.

His international career goes back to the 1992 Paralympics when he won bronze for South Africa in the marathon. He improved to silver eight years later and was 10th for USA at London 2012 before switching to para-triathlon for Rio where he was fifth.

Personal notesSchabort lost his legs in a bomb explosion in 1987 while serving with the South African military. He started racing in 1989. In 1993, he and his brother started South Africa’s first racing wheelchair company. He married Caron Erica in 1995 and they moved to USA in 1997. He also competes in para-cycling.



Tomoki Suzuki (Japan)

Born: 14 June 1994Marathon best: 1:26:03 Oita 2016London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsTokyo: 2016- 5th 1:26:11, 2017- 3rd 1:28:02Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesTomoki Suzuki ranked 10th in the world last year after clocking 1:26:03 in Oita last October.

He was only a fraction slower in Tokyo last February when he place fifth ahead of Nishida. He was third there this year just one second behind Hug.

He made the semi-finals of the T54 800m at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and was 22nd in the 5000m.

Personal notesHe injured his spine in a traffic accident when he was eight months old, resulting in paraplegia.

He took up para-athletics in primary school in Chiba where he still lives. He was introduced to the sport by wheelchair marathon racer Nobukazu Hanaoka.

He is now a student studying information management at Josai International University.

James Senbeta (United States)

Born: 19 November 1986 Philadelphia, PAMarathon best:1:25:23 Boston 2014London Marathon record: 2014- 11th 1:36:45, 2016- 5th 1:35:24Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016- 9th 1:39:02Boston: 2013- 23rd 1:44:41, 2014- 9th 1:25:23, 2015- 8th 1:40:56, 2016- 5th 1:26:19Chicago: 2014- 15th 1:44:10, 2015- 13th 1:32:59, 2016- 7th 1:33:08New York: 2014- 14th 1:36:17, 2015- 10th 1:38:39, 2016- 9th 1:44:27Tokyo: 2015- 6th 1:39:01Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- dnf

Career notesSenbeta finished fifth in both Boston and London last year within the space of six days. He also placed seventh in Chicago and ninth in New York and ranked 13th in the world at the end of the year, although he dropped out of the Rio Paralympic marathon last September.

He set his PB in Boston in 2014 when he was ninth in 1:25:23, good enough to rank sixth in the world for T54s that year. He had been 11th in London a few weeks earlier, the first of the ‘non-elite’ wheelchair athletes across the line.

He made his marathon debut at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth in 2013 when he was 13th, before finishing 23rd in Boston. He went on to place fifth in Los Angeles.

He returned to Duluth in 2014 and took the title, his first big race victory. He also finished 10th in New York in 2015.

On the track he competed in the 800m and 5000m heats in Rio and was 17th in the 5000m at the 2015 World Championships in Doha.

Personal notesAn agricultural and bio-engineering student at the University of Illinois in Champaign, he is coached by Adam Bleakney and competes for the University of Illinois Wheelchair Racing Team.



David Weir (Great Britain & NI)

Born: 5 June 1979 Carshalton, SurreyMarathon best: 1:26:17 Boston 2016London Marathon record: 2000- 4th 1:47:11, 2001- 3rd 1:50:55, 2002- 1st 1:39:44, 2003- 2nd 1:34:48, 2004- 2nd 1:36:56, 2005- 3rd 1:36:03, 2006- 1st 1:29:48, 2007- 1st 1:30:49, 2008- 1st 1:33:36, 2009- 2nd 1:28:57, 2010- 3rd 1:37:01, 2011- 1st 1:30:05, 2012- 1st 1:32:26, 2013- 5th 1:31:31, 2014- 2nd 1:32:42, 2015- 2nd 1:31:32, 2016- 3rd 1:35:21Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2015- 1st 1:27:36Boston: 2016- 4th 1:26:17New York: 2005- 6th 1:36:48, 2010- 1st 1:37:29Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- dns, 2012- 1st 1:30:20Worlds: 2006- dnf, 2011- dns, 2015- 2nd 1:31:32

Career notesWeir won his sixth London Marathon title in 2012 and and is still seeking a record seventh in 2017. He was fifth in 2013, his lowest finish in 17 appearances, lost by one second in 2014 and 2015, and was third last year just two seconds behind Hug.

He won the Mini London Marathon seven times before his full marathon debut in 2000 and is the only male athlete to win both mini and senior events. He broke the British record in Los Angeles in 2007 and shaved 10 seconds from that time to win the 2015 Berlin Marathon. His fastest ever time came in Boston last year when he was fourth in 1:26:17 to rank 12th in the world. He has won the New York Marathon twice and broke the world half marathon record in Lisbon in March 2012.

At the 2008 Paralympics he won gold medals in the 800m and 1500m, silver at 400m and bronze at 5000m. He won three golds at the 2011 World Championships in Christchurch, then at London 2012 went one better, adding the marathon title. He won a 1500m silver at the 2015 Worlds in Doha, but returned from Rio empty handed from five events. He dropped out of the marathon after crashing early on. He holds UK records at all track distances to 5000m and at 10km, half marathon and marathon. He broke three minutes for One Mile on the roads in London last May.

Personal notesWeir is coached by Jenny Archer and together they run the Weir Archer Academy in Surrey. He was made an MBE in 2009 and an OBE in 2013. His partner is Emily Thorne. He has two daughters, Ronie and Tillia Grace, and two sons, Mason and Lenny. He was born with a severed spinal cord and took up the sport aged eight.

Ryota Yoshida (Japan)

Born: 28 September 1981Marathon best: 1:27:38 Seoul 2015London Marathon record: 2015- 11th 1:35:35, 2016- 20th 1:40:34Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016- 4th 1:29:53Tokyo: 2017- 4th 1:28:03Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2015- 11th 1:35:35

Career notesRyota Yoshida was 11th in the 2015 Marathon World Championships in London in 1:35:35. He was 20th in London last year and went on to place fourth in Berlin where he had the same time, 1:29:53, as van Dyk in second and Nishida in third.

He was marginally outside his best in Tokyo this February where he was fourth in 1:28:03.

He was ranked seventh in the world in 2015 for T54s with his personal best of 1:27:38 from the Seoul Marathon. He clocked 1:29:08 in Seoul last year to rank 17th.

Personal notesYoshida injured his spinal cord in a motorcycle accident aged 24, one year after starting work as a firefighter.

He started wheelchair racing after being introduced to the sport during his rehabilitation.

He is married with one daughter and one son.



Pierre Fairbank (France)

Born: 27 July 1971 Nouméa, New CaledoniaMarathon best: 1:28:59 Berlin 2002London Marathon record: 2002- 7th 1:57:48, 2014- 5th 1:35:05, 2015- 4th 1:31:33, 2016- 9th 1:35:57Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2002- 3rd 1:28:59Boston: 2001- 7th 1:39:33New York: 2013- 7th 1:42:29, 2014- 6th 1:30:59, 2016- 10th 1:44:27Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2000- dns, 2012- dnf, 2016- 9th 1:30:12Worlds: 1998- 12th 1:40:59, 2002- dns, 2011- 7th 1:31:11, 2013- dnf, 2015- 4th 1:31:33

Career notesFairbank was fourth in London two years ago when he missed a world medal by less than a second. He was fifth in 2014, but crashed into a small traffic island on his previous appearance in 2002 when he’d started as the favourite and fastest in the field. He was ninth last year.

He set his marathon best in Berlin in 2002 when he was third. He was ranked fourth in the world last year for T53s with his time from Rio where he was ninth.

He won gold in the T53 200m at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics plus silver in the 400m and bronze at 800m. He contested the same events in Athens but didn’t win a medal although he helped France to a silver in the 4x400m and bronze in the 4x100m. In Beijing 2008 he again missed out on individual medals but won a team bronze in the 4x400m. He won no medals in London, but bagged an 800m silver and 400m bronze at Rio 2016. He also has two bronze medals from the 2013 World Championships and three from Doha 2015.

He won golds at T53 200m and 800m at the 2014 European Championships. He broke the T53 400m world record in 2004 and 800m record in 2008.

Personal notesBorn and brought up in New Caledonia, Fairbank took up athletics aged 15 after suffering inflammation of the spinal cord as a result of myelitis. He made his international debut in 1998 and was named New Caledonia’s Sportsman of the Year in 2008. He was an ambassador of the 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia.

He is a teacher and coach, and has one daughter, born in 2010.

Sho Watanabe (Japan)

Born: 23 November 1991 Marathon best: 1:28:01 Tokyo 2017London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsTokyo: 2016- 9th 1:35:29, 2017- 1st 1:28:01Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2013- 8th 1:37:00

Career notesSho Watanabe sprung a shock on Marcel Hug at the Tokyo Marathon this February when he defeated the Paralympic champion in a sprint finish. It was Hug’s first defeat in seven races in the inaugural World Marathon Majors series and ended his hopes of a clean sweep of victories in all eight events.

Watanabe’s time on Tokyo’s new faster course of 1:28:01 was a huge improvement on 2016 when he was ninth in 1:35:29.

Watanabe finished eighth in the 2013 World Championships marathon in Lyon, but didn’t contest the marathon at the Doha Worlds in 2015, where his best result was 15th at 5000m. He didn’t qualify for Japan’s Rio Paralympic team.

He raced on the track at the 2014 Asian Para Games, finishing seventh at 400m and eighth at 5000m.

Personal notesWatanabe was injured in a car acccident in 2011 aged 19, and took up the sport while he was still in hospital recovering. Within two years he was part of Japan’s World Championship team, contesting the 10,000m and marathon.

He lives in Fukuoka where he is an office worker.

His hero is Kota Hokinoue.



Hong Suk-Man (South Korea)

Born: 7 December 1975Marathon best: 1:29:13 Seoul 2015London Marathon record: 2016- 14th 1:38:37Other World Marathon Majors: NoneMarathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 19th 1:39:41, 2016- dnsWorlds: 2013- dnf

Career notesHong Suk-Man lowered his personal best to 1:29:13 at his hometown marathon in Seoul last May to rank 10th in the world for 2015 having set Korean records there in previous years and won the title in 2014 in 1:33:59. He was close to his best in Seoul last April when he clocked 1:29:34 to rank 19th in the world for 2016.

He was 14th on his London Marahton debut last year but did not start the Paralympic marathon in Rio after competing in four events on the track. His best result was fourth in the 4x400m relay.

He won three medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, taking gold at T53 100m and 200m and silver at 400m. He clinched 400m gold in 2008 but was out of the medals at London 2012 where he finished 19th in the marathon.

He has three medals from World Championships: a 200m bronze in 2006, a relay silver in 2011 and a relay bronze in 2013. He also won two bronze medals at the 2014 Asian Para Games.

Personal notesHe was diagnosed with polio at three and took up athletics in 1995 aged 20.

His wife, Esuko, is from Japan. They met when she was volunteering at the 1998 International Wheelchair Marathon in Oita, Japan. They have a son, Jimin.

He was South Korea’s torch bearer at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Simon Lawson (Great Britain & NI)

Born: 7 June 1982 Marathon best: 1:29:39 Seoul 2016London Marathon record: 2011- 12th 1:43:19, 2013- 18th 1:40:54, 2014- 19th 1:39:42, 2015- 10th 1:34:21, 2016- 10th 1:37:02Other major city marathonsBerlin: 2015- 5th 1:33:48, 2016- 6th 1:29:57Chicago: 2015- 9th 1:30:58, 2016- 8th 1:33:12New York: 2014- 11th 1:34:21, 2016- 6th 1:40:12Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- 14th 1:32:15Worlds: 2015- 10th 1:34:21

Career notesSimon Lawson chalked up four top 10 finishes in WMM races in 2016 and placed 14th in the Rio Paralympic marathon where he was Britain’s top finisher. He was 10th in last year’s London Marathon for the second year in a row and a week later lowered his personal best into sub-1:30 territory when he clocked 1:29:39 in Seoul, good enough to rank second in the world among T53s beneath world record holder Heinz Frei. He was almost as quick in Berlin shortly after the Paralympics.

He has improved his PB every year for the last four years. Lawson’s pre-2015 best of 1:32:33 was set in Schenkon in May 2014 after he had lowered it by more than two minutes in 2013. He then went a minute and a half quicker when he was ninth at the 2015 Chicago Marathon in 1:30:58.

He first raced the London Marathon in 2011, when he was 12th, and he finished 18th in 2013. He was 19th in 2014 in 1:39:42 before finishing 11th in New York. He won the Great Manchester Run over 10km in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and broke the Silverstone Half Marathon record in 2011, a time eclipsed by Weir in 2012.

His appearance at the 2015 Marathon World Championships was his first British international and he crowned it with a top 10 finish. He missed the London 2012 Paralympic Games qualifying time by just 60 seconds.

Personal notesLawson injured his spine racing motocross in 2001 on his home track in Maryport, Cumbria. A former British junior speedway champion, he is the son of former professional Steve Lawson. His brother Richard rides motocross for the Peterboro Panthers.

He works as a motorcycle mechanic. He has been wheelchair racing since 2009 and is coached by Ian Thompson and Paula Dunn.

GREAT BRITAIN



Laurens Molina (Costa Rica)

Born: 2 October 1978 San JoséMarathon best: 1:30:12 Duluth 2013London Marathon record: 2012- 18th 1:52:55, 2014- 21st 1:48:33, 2015- 14th 1:38:32, 2016- 13th 1:38:36Other World Marathon MajorsChicago: 2016- 19th 1:47:20New York: 2015- 6th 1:35:37, 2016- 5th 1:40:08Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 27th 1:48:25Worlds: 2006- dnf, 2015- 14th 1:38:32

Career notesMolina was 13th in the London Marathon last year, one place better than at the World Championships in London in 2015 when he wasn’t part of the elite start list. His time was 10 minutes quicker than on the same course in 2014.

He clocked 1:33:15 at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth last year to rank 26th in the world. His PB was set in Duluth in 2013.

He has been sixth and fifth in New York over the last two years and last year placed 19th in Chicago.

He failed to finish the marathon at the Worlds in 2006 and was 27th at London 2012, but did not race in Rio.

He competed for Costa Rica on the track at the 2000 Paralympics making the semi-finals of the 100m and 200m. He competed at 100m and 400m at the ParaPan American Games in 2003 where he also competed as a swimmer in the 100m freestyle, finishing eighth.

Personal notesHis full name is Laurens Molina Sibaja. He had both legs amputated above the knee at a young age due to a congenital illness and took up athletics aged 15.

He suffered further injuries while training in 2013 when he was struck by a moving vehicle. His hands were fractured and he needed to have his bones secured by titanium screws.

The 2012 Carrera del Odontologo (‘Dentist’s Race’) in Heredia, Costa Rica, was dedicated to him in recognition of his performance at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Nicknamed ‘Man of Steel’, he is married to Marlen Cambronero and they have a daughter and a son. They live in San José.

Patrick Monahan (Ireland)

Born: 14 January 1986Marathon best: 1:29:45 Seoul 2016London Marathon record: 2015- 23rd 1:46:47, 2016- 15th 1:38:38Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2015- 7th 1:39:52Chicago: 2015- 15th 1:38:57, 2016- 12th 1:37:22Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- 16th 1:40:26Worlds: 2015- 23rd 1:46:47

Career notesPatrick Monahan has steadiily improved over the last two years, slicing time from his personal best in almost every race he has entered.

His pre-2015 best was set in October 2014 when he broke the Dublin Marathon course record in 1:52:43. Then he was 24th at the 2015 London Marathon in 1:46:47.

He lowered that PB again at that September’s Berlin Marathon, where he was seventh in 1:39:52, and yet again in Chicago a few weeks later when he was 15th in 1:38:57.

He took a few more seconds off in London 12 months ago when he clocked 1:38:38 in 15th place, and just a week later was almost nine minutes faster when he recorded 1:29:45 in Seoul, a time that ranked him third among T53s for 2016.

He went on from there to place 16th in the Rio Paralympic marathon and 12th in Chicago in another quick time – 1:37:22.

Personal notesHe first used a racing chair in August 2013, six years after being paralysed when his car overturned on a patch of ice.

After just two months in the chair he placed third in the 2013 Dublin Marathon, despite doing an extra two miles because he was misdirected on the course. In May 2014 he won the Belfast Marathon in 2:06:21.

He comes from Naas in county Kildare. His father, Mick Monahan, refereed the 2005 All Ireland Gaelic football final between Tyrone and Kerry.



Jose Jiménez (Costa Rica)

Born: 2 July 1982Marathon best: 1:31:36 Duluth 2015London Marathon record: 2016- 16th 1:38:38Other major city marathonsChicago: 2013- 19th 1:43, 2014- 14th 1:44, 2015- 18th 1:42:17, 2016- 14th 1:38:47New York: 2015- 21st 2:06:40, 2016- 23rd 2:02:32Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- 15th 1:35:58

Career notesJiménez was 16th on his London Marathon debut last year and 15th at the Rio Paralympics. He went on to place 14th in Chicago and 23rd in New York.

He ranked 31st in the world last year having held the 14th best time in 2015 with his personal best of 1:31:36 from that year’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth where he was fourth.

He was seventh in Los Angeles in 2014 and sixth last year in 1:43:48.

He competed over 100m and 400m at the 2011 World Championships.

He is Costa Rica’s national champion at 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and marathon.

Personal notesHis full name is Jose Jiménez Hernandez. He injured his spinal cord in an accident and started competing in 2002. He lives in Orotina.

He has focused on the marathon since 2013.

Alex DuPont (Canada)

Born: 3 September 1985Marathon best: 1:33:40 Chicago 2016London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsChicago: 2016- 10th 1:33:40Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesAlexandre DuPont makes his London Marathon debut after placing 10th in Chicago last October in 1:33:40 to rank 27th in the world last year, the second quickest Canadian in 2016 after Josh Cassidy.

He has represented his country on the track at two Paralympic Games and three World Championships winning three relay medals –a 4x400m relay gold at the 2013 Worlds, plus bronze at the 2011 Worlds and in Rio.

He also competed in the heats of the 400m, 800m and 1500m in Rio. He won a 1500m bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Personal notesDuPont’s right leg was amputated after he was involved in a motorcycle accident at 17. He took up wheelchair racing a year later after watching it on television.

His wife, Ilana, won a silver and bronze medal in para- athletics at the 2015 ParaPan American Games in Toronto. They have a daughter, Amelia, and live in Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville in Quebec.

He was named the 2014 Wheelchair Athlete of the Year by Athletics Canada.

CANADA



JohnBoy Smith (Great Britain & NI)

Born: 27 November 1989Marathon best: 1:35:04 Seoul 2016London Marathon record: 2015- 20th 1:46:17, 2016- 18th 1:38:40Other World Marathon MajorsNew York: 2015- 14th 1:40:36Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2015- 20th 1:46:17

Career notesJohn Smith was 20th in London in 2015, the third Briton, clocking 1:46:17. He improved last year to place 18th in 1:38:40, again third Briton behind Weir and Lawson.

He clocked a personal best of 1:40:36 at the 2015 New York Marathon and then won the highly-prized Dubai Marathon last January in 1:35:56.

He reduced his PB still further in Seville last February when he was second to Jordi Madera in 1:35:25, and the improvement continued at the end of April when he clocked 1:35:04 in Seoul, just a week after last year’s London Marathon. That ranked him 29th in the world last year for T54 racers.

He ranked first in the UK for 5000m and 10,000m in 2015 and was third behind Weir and Marcel Hug at the Westminster Mile in May 2015.

Personal notesHe was born into the Romany Gypsy community in Sale, Manchester, and now lives in Gravesend. Formerly a boxer, he was paralysed in 2006 at 16 when a local gamekeeper mistook Smith and friends for poachers and shot Smith in the back.

He took up powerlifting and broke two British records. Then he saw the London 2012 Games on TV and started doing shot put, javelin and discus. His javelin event was withdrawn from the Rio 2016 Games so he started wheelchair racing in April 2015 and within weeks was the third Briton home in the London Marathon.

During the 2015 season Smith switched from seated throwing events to wheelchair racing. He started training with David Weir and is now coached by Weir and Jenny Archer.

Brian Siemann (United States)

Born: 7 October 1989Marathon best: 1:34:00 London Marathon record: 2016- 22nd 1:53:42Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2015- 25th 1:56:24, 2016- 15th 1:42:46Chicago: 2015- 20th 1:45:18, 2016 - 13th 1:38:43New York: 2011- 18th 1:52:39, 2013- 21st 2:02:13, 2014- 23rd 1:44:29, 2015- 9th 1:36:59, 2016- 16th 1:51:06Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 25th 1:54:51

Career notesBrian Siemann was 22nd on his London Marathon debut last year. He went on to place 13th in Chicago and 16th in New York, and ranked ninth in the world for T53s with his Chicago time of 1:38:43.

He has completed nine Chicago Marathons, eight in Boston and five in New York.

He made the final of three events at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, finishing fourth in the 800m, fifth at 400m and seventh at 100m. At London 2012, he was sixth at 400m and eighth at 800m. He was knocked out in the heats of the 200m and came 25th in the marathon.

He has also competed on the track for USA at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Championships, finishing fourth at 400m and 800m in Doha.

Personal notesBorn in Brooklyn, New York, he was paralysed from the waist down due to complications during birth. He is a quadruplet with sisters Amanda, Maria and Jessica.

He took up athletics at school thanks to high school coach Joe McLaughlin, and now lives in Champaign, Illinois, where he is a teaching assistant. He is coached by Adam Bleakney at the University of Illinois.

He took part in the Push Across Cayman event in February 2015 in the Cayman Islands. He travelled 55 miles around the island in his racing chair to raise awareness of people with an impairment. He was joined by fellow US para-athletes Ryan Chalmers, Susannah Scaroni, Aaron Pike and Tatyana McFadden.

GREAT BRITAIN



Alhassane Balde (Germany)

Born: 21 December 1985Marathon best: 1:35:33 Schenkon 2014London Marathon record: 2015- 12th 1:38:31Other World Marathon Majors: NoneMarathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2015- 12th 1:38:31

Career notesAlhassane Balde was 12th on last appearance at the London Marathon two years ago, clocking 1:38:31. He is Germany’s top-ranked wheelchair racer after clocking 1:35:33 in Schenkon in 2014.

He has competed for Germany at three Paralympic Games, two World Championships and two European Championships. He won European silvers at 1500m and 5000m in 2014 and 5000m bronze in 2016.

His highest finish at the Paralympics was sixth over 1500m in Rio. He also competed in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 but missed out on London 2012.

He handcycled in the 2014 Boston Marathon.

Personal notesHe has been paraplegic since birth due to a medical error.

Born in Guinea, he travelled to Düsseldorf, Germany, when he was nine months old for medical treatment. At four years old he was adopted by his uncle and aunt who lived there. German doctors believed his chances of surviving in Guinea were less than those in Germany.

He took up the sport after receiving a racing wheelchair as a gift from a company at the Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Düsseldorf for his sixth birthday.

He now lives in Bonn.

Daniel Romanchuk (United States)

Born: 8 March 1998Marathon best: 1:45:31 Chicago 2016London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsChicago: 2016- 17th 1:45:31New York: 2016- 15th 1:48:07Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesRomanchuk makes his London Marathon debut at age 19 after placing 17th in in Chicago last October in 1:45:31 to rank 41st in the world. He was only slightly slower in New York a month later where he placed 15th.

He competed in the heats of five track events at the Rio 2016 Paralympics – the T54 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m.

He raced in the 800m and 1500m at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and won gold in the T54 5000m at the 2015 ParaPan American Games in Toronto.

Personal notesHe was born in Baltimore with spina bifida and now lives in Mount Airy. He races for Baltimore club, the Bennett Blazers. He also coaches para-sports.

He has competed in para-swimming and para-triathlon at national level, and has played wheelchair basketball and ice sledge hockey for the Blazers.

GERMANY



T53/54 Women

Bib Name Country Class PB Age DoB Bib name151 Tatyana McFadden USA T54 1:35:06 28 21/04/89 MCFADDEN152 Amanda McGrory USA T53 1:36:39 30 09/06/86 MCGRORY153 Shirley Reilly USA T53 1:37:36 31 29/05/85 REILLY154 Manuela Schär SUI T54 1:38:07 32 05/12/84 SCHAR155 Susannah Scaroni USA T54 1:38:33 25 16/05/91 SCARONI156 Diane Roy CAN T54 1:40:09 46 09/01/71 ROY157 Tsubasa Kina JPN T54 1:44:56 26 18/05/90 KINA158 Margriet van den Broek NED T54 1:45:43 43 30/03/74 VAN DEN BROEK159 Arielle Rausin USA T54 1:50:42 23 16/09/93 RAUSIN160 Katrina Gerhard USA T54 1:56:54 20 13/12/96 GERHARD161 Jade Jones GBR T54 1:57:06 21 04/01/96 JONES

PreviewAll eyes will be on Tatyana McFadden in the women’s race as the American aims to become the first athlete of any category ever to win five London Marathons in in a row. She smashed the course record to win World Championship gold here in 2015 and last year held off 2013 world champion Manuela Schär for the third year in a row.

She completed the quadruple of Boston, London, Chicago and New York Marathon victories in 2016 for the fourth year in a row, but missed out on marathon gold at the Paralympic Games in Rio where she was pipped on the line by China’s Zou Lihong, the width of a tyre separating the pair after 26.2 miles.

Schär is llikely to be the dominant American’s main challenger again. The Swiss racer lost by just one second 12 months ago and was also runner-up behind McFadden in Boston, Chicago and New York last year.

Schär won the Berlin Marathon last September but was forced to accept second again in Tokyo this February when Amanda McGrory clinched victory.

McGrory should be full of confidence for London after that Tokyo win. The former course record holder won the London title in 2009 and 2011, and will be keen to get back in the medals after placing fourth in 2016.

US duo Susannah Scaroni and Shirley Reilly should also be in contention.

Reilly won Paralympic gold at London 2012 but hasn’t raced here since 2014, while Scaroni was in good form last year and made the podium in Tokyo this February when she was third. She also beat McGrory to win the New York half marathon in March.

Japanese youngster Tsubasa Kina will be one to watch after she won her debut marathon in Oita last October. She was fifth in Tokyo.

Arielle Rausin and Katrina Gerhard are both US youngsters making their London debuts, while Canada’s Diane Roy is an experienced campaigner who shouldn’t be discounted.

British interest rests with Jade Jones, the 21-year-old Teessider who is coached by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. She has dropped out in the last two years and will be looking for an improvement in 2017.

There will be 15 athletes in total in the women’s wheelchair race.



Tatyana McFadden (United States)

Born: 21 April 1989 St Petersburg, RussiaMarathon best: 1:35:06 Boston 2014London Marathon record: 2011- 4th 1:46:34, 2012- 8th 2:05:38, 2013- 1st 1:46:02, 2014- 1st 1:45:12, 2015- 1st 1:41:14, 2016- 1st 1:44:14Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2013- 1st 1:45:24, 2014- 1st 1:35:06, 2015- 1st 1:52:54, 2016- 1st 1:42:16Chicago: 2009- 1st 1:50:47, 2010- 3rd 1:56:11, 2011- 1st 1:45:03, 2012- 1st 1:49:52, 2013- 1st 1:42:35, 2014- 1st 1:44:50, 2015- 1st 1:41:10, 2016- 1st 1:42:28New York: 2009– 6th 2:08:05, 2010- 1st 2:02:22, 2011- 3rd 1:52:52, 2013- 1st 1:59:13, 2014- 1st 1:42:16, 2015- 1st 1:43:04, 2016- 1st 1:47:43Tokyo: 2016- 2nd 1:41:14Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 9th 1:58:47, 2016- 2nd 1:38:44Worlds: 2015- 1st 1:41:14

Career notesMcFadden has dominated women’s marathon racing for four years. She is undefeated in Boston, London, Chicago and New York since 2012 and won 13 races in a row until beaten in Tokyo last February. In 2013 she became the first athlete to win all four in one year, and has repeated the feat every year since. She has won seven Chicago Marathons and five in New York. She smashed her PB in Boston in 2014 and broke the London course record in 2015 for the third year running.

She made her name on the track when she won two Paralympic medals in Athens aged 15. She broke her first world record, the 100m, just two years later, and won four more Paralympic medals in Beijing. At London 2012 she won golds in the T54 400m, 800m and 1500m, and in Rio she added the 5000m, but was beaten on the line by Zou Lihong in the marathon. She has 16 Paralympic medals in all, including a silver at cross country skiing from Sochi 2014. She won a record six gold medals at the Lyon 2013 World Champs, having won four golds and a silver in 2011.

Personal notesBorn with spina bifida, McFadden was abandoned in a Russian orphanage and walked on her hands for the first six years of her life. She was adopted by an American family and grew up in Maryland. Nicknamed ‘the Beast’, she now competes for Illinois Wheelchair Athletics. She has a disability sports equality law named after her. Her sister Hannah is also a wheelchair racer.

Amanda McGrory (United States)

Born: 9 June 1986 Kennett Square, PAMarathon best: 1:36:39 Duluth 2011London Marathon record: 2008- 2nd 1:51:58, 2009- 1st 1:50:39, 2010- 3rd 1:52:36, 2011- 1st 1:46:31, 2012- 6th 1:54:41, 2013- 2nd 1:46:04, 2015- 3rd 1:46:25, 2016- 4th 1:47:41Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2009- 4th 2:10:44, 2010- 3rd 1:57:20, 2013- 3rd 1:49:19, 2014- 8th 1:50:52, 2015- 4th 1:57:21, 2016- 5th 1:49:31Chicago: 2007- 1st 1:45:27, 2008- 1st 1:55:12, 2009- 3rd 1:50:49, 2010- 1st 1:47:25, 2013- 3rd 1:42:55, 2014- 3rd 1:45:55, 2015- 4th 1:50:02, 2016- 3rd 1:47:55New York: 2006- 1st 1:54:17, 2007- 3rd 1:56:09, 2008- 2nd 2:11:25, 2010- 3rd 2:09:42, 2011- 1st 1:50:24, 2013- 4th 2:05:06, 2014- 4th 1:52:40, 2015- 7th 1:59:40, 2016- 3rd 1:53:15Tokyo: 2016- 4th 1:56:58, 2017- 1st 1:43:27Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 2nd 1:40:00, 2012- 4th 1:46:35, 2016- 3rd 1:38:45Worlds: 2011- 3rd 1:48:24, 2013- 4th 1:51:46, 2015- 3rd 1:46:25

Career notesMcGrory outbattled Shelly Woods to win her second London title in 2011, smashing the course record just a week after taking the Paris Marathon in an almost identical time. Her remarkable year continued as she notched up another win and another course record in New York. She has won two London, two New York, two Oita and three Chicago Marathon titles. In February this year she added the Tokyo Marathon when she beat Manuela Schär on the line.

She won three medals at the Rio Paralympics, clinching bronze in the marathon just a second behind McFadden and Zou after taking 1500m silver and 5000m bronze. She won a full set of medals at the Beijing Games and was fourth in the marathon at London 2012. She won two golds at the 2011 Worlds and bronze in the marathon, but missed out on medals in 2013.

Personal notesMcGrory was paralysed from the waist down at the age of five when an injection for an allergy damaged her spinal cord. She graduated in psychology from the University of Illinois in 2010 and still lives in Champaign. She was a basketball player before turning to athletics.



Manuela Schär (Switzerland)

Born: 5 December 1984 LucerneMarathon best: 1:38:07 Oita 2013 (world record)London Marathon record: 2014- 2nd 1:46:44, 2015- 2nd 1:43:56, 2016- 2nd 1:44:15Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2013- 1st 1:41:39, 2016- 1st 1:43:00Boston: 2014- 4th 1:39:29, 2016- 2nd 1:43:30Chicago: 2013- 2nd 1:42:37, 2014- 2nd 1:45:12, 2015- 2nd 1:41:56, 2016- 2nd 1:42:29New York: 2013- 3rd 2:03:53, 2014- 2nd 1:43:25, 2015- 2nd 1:44:57, 2016- 2nd 1:49:28Tokyo: 2017- 2nd 1:43:27Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2016- 6th 1:38:46Worlds: 2013- 1st 1:49:45, 2015- 2nd 1:43:56

Career notesSchär won the world marathon title in 2013 and became the joint official world record holder when she clocked 1:38:07 in Oita later that year.

Last year she won the Berlin title for a second time and was runner-up to McFadden in Boston, London, Chicago and New York, but could only finish sixth in Rio. She has been the dominant American’s closest challenger in recent years, finishing second to her in London and New York for the last three years, and second in Chicago for the last four. She was second again in Tokyo this February, losing out to McGrory.

She won three track silvers at the 2013 World Championships in Lyon where she was second to McFadden in the T54 400m, 800m and 5000m. She won a 200m silver at her first Paralympics in 2004 and bronze in the 100m while in 2008 she took bronze at 200m. Her best results at London 2012 were two fifth places while in Rio she was fourth at 1500m, fifth at 400m and 800m and eighth at 5000m.

She is the European record holder at 200m, 400m and 800m and won four gold medals at the 2014 European Championships in Swansea.

Personal notesShe grew up in Altishofen with her brother, Ivo, and parents, Elisabeth and Ireno. She was injured in an accident in 1993 and started wheelchair sport in 1998 aged 14. She made her international debut in 2001.

She lives in Lucerne where she was born and serves as an ambassador for Right To Play Switzerland, an organisation which helps children in disadvantaged countries take part in sports programmes. Her surname means ‘scissors’ in English.

Shirley Reilly (United States)

Born: 29 May 1985 Anchorage, AlaskaMarathon best: 1:37:36 Boston 2012London Marathon record: 2012- 4th 1:54:39, 2013- 6th 1:50:46, 2014- 8th 1:59:57Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2004- 4th 1:58:54, 2005- 3rd 1:53:44, 2006- 5th 2:14:49, 2009- 3rd 2:04:54, 2010- 4th 1:57:23, 2011- 2nd 1:41:01, 2012- 1st 1:37:36, 2013- 4th 1:52:19, 2014- 7th 1:44:34, 2016- 12th 2:04:12Chicago: 2011- 4th 1:47:56, 2013- 4th 1:49:30New York: 2013- 7th 2:11:10Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 7th 1:40:26, 2012- 1st 1:46:33, 2016- 5th 1:38:46Worlds: 2002- 11th 2:16:40

Career notesReilly bagged a full set of medals at London 2012, taking gold in the marathon, silver in the 5000m and bronze in the 1500m. 2012 was a great year for Reilly as she also won the Boston Marathon by a second in a PB to end Wakako Tsuchida’s five-year winning streak. She was fourth on her London Marathon debut just a week later but hasn’t raced here since 2014 when she was eighth.

She withdrew from the London Marathon last year after finishing 12th in Boston six days earlier. She returned to defend her Paralympic title in Rio and finished fifth in 1:38:46, just 70 seconds outside her PB. It was the quickest time by a T53 athlete in 2016 by more than 12 minutes.

She retained her 1500m bronze in Rio and was fifth at 400m. At London 2012 she also won a 5000m silver. She first represented USA at the 2004 Athens Paralympics when she was 19. On the track she ranks among the top three in the US for T53s at 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon. She won a silver in the T53 400m at the 2013 World Championships. She also competed for USA at the 2002 Worlds when she was 17.

Personal notesReilly is of Native American (Inupiaq) heritage. She was born three weeks premature with damage to her spine leaving her paralysed from the waist down. At two, her family moved from Anchorage to San Jose so she could have surgery. She started sport at 10 and competed for the University of Arizona track team. She lives in Tucson.



Susannah Scaroni (United States)

Born: 16 May 1991 Burns, OregonMarathon best: 1:38:33 Boston 2014London Marathon record: 2013- 7th 1:50:47, 2014- 4th 1:51:01, 2015- 5th 1:47:06, 2016- 7th 1:52:50Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2012- 5th 1:50:44, 2013- 6th 1:53:28, 2014- 3rd 1:38:33, 2015- 3rd 1:57:21, 2016- 4th 1:46:53Chicago: 2011- 7th 2:02:51, 2012- 2nd 1:56:30, 2014- 7th 1:51:56, 2015- 6th 1:50:10, 2016- 5th 1:52:50New York: 2013- 5th 2:05:07, 2014- 7th 1:57:55, 2015- 5th 1:54:24, 2016- 4th 1:58:16Tokyo: 2017- 3rd 1:43:29Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2012- 8th 1:58:37, 2016- 7th 1:38:47Worlds: 2013- 5th 2:00:36, 2015- 5th 1:47:06

Career notesSince her first marathon in Chicago in 2011, Susannah Scaroni has consistently finished in the top 10 in the world’s major races, and has made the medal podium three times – in Chicago in 2012, in Boston in 2014, when she clocked her personal best of 1:38:33, and again two years ago.

In London, her best result was fourth in 2014 while she was seventh last year six days after finishing fourth in Boston. She was third in Tokyo this February after placing fourth in New York and fifth in Chicago last year.

She was seventh in the Rio Paralympic marathon in 1:38:47, close to her PB and good enough to rank sixth in the world last year. She had raced well at London 2012 four years earlier to finish eighth, that time just ahead of fellow Illinois student Tatyana McFadden. She ranked third in the world in 2015 after clocking 1:46:24 finishing third at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. She won the Los Angeles Marathon in 2013 and 2014. She won the New York half marathon this March in 55:06.

She raced in the heats of the 800m in Rio and competed over 800m, 1500m and 5000m at the 2015 Worlds.

Personal notesScaroni was injured in a car accident aged five and took up wheelchair racing in 2002 at 11. She joined the University of Illinois track team in 2012 and now lives in Champaign. She is coached by Adam Bleakney.

She graduated in dietetics in May 2014. She has two brothers and one sister.

Diane Roy (Canada)

Born: 9 January 1971 Notre Dame du Lac, QuebecMarathon best: 1:40:09 Oensingen 2007London Marathon record: 2009- 3rd 1:50:41, 2010- dnf, 2011- 5th 1:57:03, 2012- 3rd 1:53:05, 2013- 9th 2:03:59Other World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2007- 4th 2:04:13, 2008- 2nd 1:56:18, 2009- 2nd 2:01:27, 2010- 2nd 1:47:08, 2012- 3rd 1:42:37, 2013- 7th 1:59:37, 2016- 7th 1:56:20Chicago: 2009- 2nd 1:50:49, 2011- 3rd 1:47:14, 2013- 7th 1:49:35New York: 2006- 3rd 1:54:38, 2007- 6th 1:59:09, 2008- 5th 2:16:14, 2010- 4th 2:11:50, 2011- 6th 1:57:59, 2013- 10th 2:25:40, 2015- 8th 2:00:13Marathons in major championshipsParalympics: 2008- 8th 1:40:37, 2012- 7th 1:53:02Worlds: 2006- 1st 1:44:23

Career notesRoy was world marathon champion in 2006 but didn’t defend her title in 2011 and didn’t race in Lyon 2013 nor London 2015. She won 1500m silver and 800m bronze in 2011, having bagged a string of medals at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, including bronze in 400m and 800m, and silver in a re-run 5000m after initially winning gold.

Her big marathon victories have come in Oita, while her best time was set in Oensingen in 2007. She was third on her London debut in 2009 and again in 2012, but could only finish ninth on her last appearance in 2013.

She finished second in Boston three times in a row from 2008, a runners-up record she has matched in Paris. She was seventh in Boston last year, her one WMM race in 2016.

Rio 2016 was her sixth Paralympics – she competed in Atlanta and Sydney before winning two bronze medals in Athens followed by her Beijing brace. She contested the T54 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m at London 2012 as well as the marathon. In Rio she was sixth at 1500m and seventh in the 800m and 5000m.

Personal notesRoy is the seventh of eight children. She was injured at 17 during an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle.

Nicknamed ‘Didi’, or ‘the Warhorse’, she is coached by Jean Laroche and lives in Sherbrooke.

She has one son, Emile.



Tsubasa Kina (Japan)

Born: 18 May 1990Marathon best: 1:44:56 Oita 2016London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsTokyo: 2017- 5th 1:46:11Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesTsubasa Kina makes her London Marathon debut after winning her first ever marathon in Oita at the end of October last year. She clocked 1:44:56 to rank 11th in the world.

She was close to that time in Tokyo this year where she placed fifth in 1:46:11.

She previously competed on the track and made the move up to the marathon in 2016.

Personal notesShe was a basketball player before she injured herself lifting a barbell during training. She crushed her spine between the barbell and the floor after trying to lift 120kg in a training session.

She works at Mobility Center Okinawa, helping wheelchair users find the best adaptability products and get government support to aid their mobility.

Margriet van den Broek (Netherlands)

Born: 30 March 1974 TilburgMarathon best: 1:45:43 Oita 2016London Marathon record: DebutOther World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2016- 3rd 1:52:05Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesMargriet van den Broek was due to make her marathon debut in London last year but withdrew from the line-up. She did compete in Berlin, finishing third to Manuela Schär and Sandra Graf in 1:52:05.

She improved that time a month later when she clocked 1:45:43 to place second to Tsubasa Kina at the Oita Marathon at the end of October. She ranked 12th in the marathon among T54s in 2016.

She beat former London Marathon champion Amanda McGrory in the Tyne Tunnel 2km wheelchair race in 2015. She was third in the Great North Run that year behind McGrory and Britain’s Shelly Woods, clocking 53:58.

She broke four national records at the 2015 Grand Prix in Notwill, Switzerland, in May 2015 to qualify for the World Championships in Doha where she won bronze medals in the 400m and 800m and made the finals of the 100m, 200m, 1500m and 5000m.

She was a European silver medallist over 100m in 2014 and made the finals of the 100m, 400m and 800m at the Rio Paralympics.

Personal notesVan den Broek has a displaced hip and used crutches until she was 35. She only began using a wheelchair in 2010, and was a wheelchair basketball player before taking up athletics after being spotted at a talent identification day at 38.

She studied occupational therapy and works as a counsellor at a social services organisation in Amsterdam where she lives.



Arielle Rausin (United States)

Born: 16 September 1993Marathon best: 1:50:42London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2016- 11th 2:03:04New York: 2016- 2:13Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesA relative newcomer to the wheelchair racing scene, Arielle Rausin has a best time of 1:50:42.

She raced well at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth last June when she clocked 1:55:30 to rank 16th in the world last year.

She had finished 11th in the Boston Marathon in April and went on to clock 2:13 in New York.

She has a half marathon best of 54:44.

She completed the 55-mile Push Across Cayman in February last year.

Personal notesRausin was paralysed by a car accident in 2003 aged 10 and took up wheelchair in 2012.

Born in Florida, she now lives in Urbana and studies mathematics and computer science at the University of Illinois where she is coached by Adam Bleakney as part of the University of Illinois Track and Road Racing Team.

Last year she she founded Ingenium Manufacturing, a company using 3D printers to create wheelchair racing gloves for athletes.

Her mother, Krista Dondero, is an author who has published two children’s fantasy books whose main protagonists are young girls who use wheelchairs.

Katrina Gerhard (United States)

Born: 13 December 1996Marathon best: 1:56:54 Chicago 2016London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2016- 10th 2:01:41Chicago: 2015- 7th 2:01:08, 2016- 6th 1:56:54New York: 2016- 5th 2:03:02Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesKatrina Gerhard finished sixth in the Chicago Marathon last October with a personal best of 1:56:54 to rank 18th in the world for 2016.

She went on to finish fifth in New York a month later in 2:03:02 having been just outside the two-hour mark when she was 10th in Boston last April.

She won the Boston half marathon in 2014 when she was 17, and was fourth in the New York half marathon last year.

In high school she competed in the 400m, 800m, 1500m, javelin and shot put and in 2014 was named a US Paralympics Track and Field High School All-American.

Personal notesAt 14 Gerhard misjudged a back flip while sword dancing (a form of folk dance), landed on her neck and broke her collarbone. Tests showed no damage to her spine but she was eventually diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, a condition in the peripheral nerves that leads to a gradual loss of sensory and reflex functions.

She lives in Acton, Massachusetts, and studies medicine at the University of Illinois where she competes for the Track and Road Racing Team.



Jade Jones (Great Britain & NI)

Born: 4 January 1996 MiddlesbroughMarathon best: 1:57:06 Paris 2016London Marathon record: 2014- 9th 1:59:59, 2015- dnf, 2016- dnfOther World Marathon MajorsNew York: 2016- 6th 2:03:16Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2015- dnf

Career notesJade Jones made her senior marathon debut at the London Marathon in 2014 at 18 after winning the Mini London Marathon three times in a row from 2011 to 2013, twice breaking the under 17s girls’ course record. She raced the full marathon again in 2015 and 2016 but did not finish either race.

She lowered her best by nearly three minutes when she won the Paris Marathon last April to rank 19th in the world. She also won the Yorkshire Marathon last year and was sixth in New York.

She was selected for Britain’s 2011 World Championships team when she was 15 and finished fifth in the T54 200m. She set personal bests for 400m, 800m and 1500m in 2012 and was selected for Britain’s London 2012 Paralympic team. At 16, she made the final of the 1500m. In 2013 she reached four finals at the World Championships in Lyon, the 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m, finishing fourth in the 400m. Injury kept her out of the 2015 Worlds in Doha, but she competed in the heats of the 800m, 1500m and 5000m in Rio.

She won a silver and bronze at the 2014 European Championships, at 800m and 1500m respectively, and took another bronze for 1500m at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

She won the junior wheelchair event at the 2012 Great North Run and the senior race at the 2013 Silverstone Half where she smashed the course record by 10 minutes in 62:09. She lowered that to 58:55 in 2016.

Personal notesJones was born missing a femur in her right leg and her foot was amputated when she was 10. A pupil at Ormesby School in Middlesbrough, she started racing after being invited to try out a racing chair by Tanni Grey-Thompson and her husband, Ian, who were attending a sports day. Within a few weeks she was training under Grey-Thompson at New Markse Harriers and began entering competitions in 2009. Nicknamed ‘JJ’, she is now studying law at Teesside University.

Wheelchair Awards & Bonuses

Awards for place

Men Women1st $20,000 $20,0002nd $11,000 $11,0003rd $8,000 $8,0004th $5,500 $5,5005th $3,500 $3,5006th $2,800 $2,8007th $2,000 $2,0008th $1,500 $1,5009th $1,000 $1,00010th $700 $700 $56,000 $56,000

Total: $112,000

Course record: $5,000 $5,000

Britons outside top 101st $200 $2002nd $100 $1003rd $50 $50

Documents

05 WORLD PARA ATHLETICS MARATHON WORLD CUPlondon-marathon.s3.amazonaws.com/vmlm2014/live... · The World Para Athletics Marathon World Cup returns in 2017 with a new name and more