Back To News
As Australia’s newest marathon star attempts to win her first New York title this Sunday, a multiple winner of the world-famous event has become the first Australian inducted into the New York Road Runners (NYRR) Hall of Fame.
Five-time champion Kurt Fearnley will be inducted into the NYRR Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021, a feat Madison de Rozario said was “incredibly well-deserved” as she put the finishing touches on her own preparation before she departed for New York on Thursday.
Fearnley will be one of five athletes inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame Class, along with Gary Muhrcke (USA), Ibrahim Hussein (Kenya), Liz McColgan (Scotland), and Shalane Flanagan (USA) – chosen to represent each decade of the TCS New York City Marathon’s 50-year history.
Fearnley secured four consecutive New York City marathon titles from 2006 to 2009 and his fifth victory in 2014. He also still holds the course record for the men’s wheelchair division of 1:29:22 which was set in 2006.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV4OBGetIhy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The 2021 TCS New York City Marathon will mark the race’s 50th running, and the return of the event after the 2020 race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 30,000 racers will be competing, with de Rozario touted as one of the leading contenders in the women’s wheelchair race. The event will be her first since her breakthrough marathon gold at Tokyo 2020 in the women’s marathon T54.
“We’ve done so much work on my base fitness throughout the last two years without being able to race. In Tokyo it came out in a good way but that’s just one race. I’m looking to see where I’m at and to race a strong 42 km,” de Rozario said.
Following her success in Tokyo, de Rozario had resumed training under the tutelage of Para-athletics legend Louise Sauvage, with no intention of returning to international competition due to Australian border restrictions.
“We have been slowly getting back into training, but we weren’t in any hurry. I wasn’t planning on racing a marathon until end of February. When we heard that the borders were reopening, we switched plans.
“I’m really excited to race again. The marathon circuit is so different from anything else – I’ve definitely missed it over the last two years. I haven’t raced one of the major marathon events since October 2019, so it’s definitely been a long time.”
De Rozario, who has competed in the New York City Marathon in 2017 and 2018, describes the famous course as both mental and physically demanding.
“New York is one of the most challenging marathon events out there. There is a lot of long climbs in it as it goes through all five boroughs of New York with the four bridges that join them. The race begins at Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which is a 1500m long climb. The whole course is a grind – it’s a course that will hurt the entire time.”
Along the route, spectators will be lining the streets – with this year’s atmosphere expected to be particularly electric as the return of the event symbolises a major milestone in New York’s pandemic recovery.
“The crowd is unreal. The entire atmosphere leading into the race is unreal. Race day is unparalleled. I’m really looking forward to it,” de Rozario said.
Speaking on Fearnley’s induction into the NYRR Hall of Fame, de Rozario praised for his contributions to the sport.
“It’s incredibly well deserved. He’s one of the individuals who has changed the landscape of wheelchair racing in a major way. The next generation of athletes are going to hugely benefit from his influence.”
The TCS New York City Marathon will take place Sunday 7th November.
By: Lucy Hunt, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 5 November 2021
