Marathon -- the ultimate in Athletics, marked a beautiful finish for all the competitions at the Bird's Nest on Wednesday, shining the brightest light of the Paralympic spirit across Beijing.
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| Kurt Fearnley celebrates. (Photo: Xinhua) |
The 42.195km Marathon, the longest distance to cover by the Paralympic athletes, started at Tiananmen Square, following the same route of the Olympic Marathon, winds across several districts, passes the Temple of Heaven, the China National Grand Theatre, the Capital Gymnasium, Peking University and Tsinghua University, and many residential areas in Beijing, and finishes at the National Stadium.
As the only event held outside of the Bird's Nest, the Marathon attracts hundreds of thousands of Beijing residents to watch along the route,bringing inspiration to the whole city, best embodying the concept of Beijing Paralympics -- Transcendence, Integration and Equality.
Ninety-seven Paralympic athletes, in five sport classes (Men's T12, T46, T52 and T54 and Women's T54), started the challenging distance at 7:30 and competed for five Paralympic titles. T52 and T54 athletes, on wheelchairs, arrived at the National Stadium first, and T12 and T46 runners arrived roughly 50 minutes later.
The fastest Paralympic competitor, Kurt Fearnley of Australia in Men's T54, finished in 1:23:17.
According to the disability classification of Beijing Paralympics, T11, T12 and T13 covers athletes with different levels of visual impairment, T40-46 covers ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities, including les Autres, and T51-58 cover athletes in wheelchair with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations.
In Paralympic Marathon, athletes with visual impairment may have guides running with them. One athlete has a maximum of four guides, with one guide substituting the former one at the points of 10km, 20km and 30km.
At eight o'clock on Wednesday night, the closing ceremony will be staged at the National Stadium, to bid farewell to all the Paralympians and invite all guests to attend the London 2012 Paralympics.