Silver medallist Madison de Rozario looks to defend Sydney Marathon title days after Paralympics success

Still grieving the death of her father and overcoming jet lag after a successful Paralympics in Paris, powerhouse wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario is now looking to defend her Sydney Marathon title on Sunday.

Madison de Rozario has barely had any time to sleep, let alone get over her jet lag after a successful Paralympics in Paris.

The five-time Paralympian has been through a rollercoaster of emotions over the past couple of months, flag-bearing for Australia alongside long-time friend Brenden Hall before the heartbreaking death of her father only hours after the opening ceremony.

The veteran wheelchair racer went on to pick up two medals in Paris – bronze in the 5000m T54 event and silver in the T54 marathon.

Only days after 30-year-old de Rozario returned back Down Under, she is looking to defend her crown at the TCS Sydney Marathon.

While “excited” for Sunday’s race, she told this publication she was caught in two worlds, having committed to the Sydney Marathon six months earlier.

Madison de Rozario will cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge in an effort to defend her Sydney Marathon wheelchair racing title. Picture: Rohan Kelly

“There’s another part of me that is hating … me for making this decision,” she laughed.

“But I’ve raced back-to-back marathons before … on consecutive weekends and I think in my head I was like, yeah that’s fine I can absolutely do that.”

De Rozario said she not really factored in the “Paralympic fatigue” and was admittedly “very tried”, but nonetheless was looking forward to the opportunity to race on Sydney’s roads which will be lined with thousands of supporters.

It’s one of the very things Abbott World Marathon Major chief executive Dawna Stone said was crucial to Sydney clinching major status like cities such as New York.

“It’s really in (Sydney Marathon’s) hands now to pass, they’ve done all the work,” she said.

“The criteria is not public … it comes down to (a lot of things) from participants, to elite athletes to coverage.”

Abbott World Marathon Major chief executive Dawna Stone. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short

Race director Wayne Larden affirmed the call for spectators to flock to the streets, with 150,000 projected on Sunday to watch about 40,000 runners.

“The spectator numbers will grow over the years … you just have to look at London or New York, they’ve got one to two million people lining the course the whole way.”

Mr Larden said that’s exactly what the Sydney Marathon hoped to achieve.

Event organisers and police have urged Sydneysiders to “opt for public transport” with major road closures, including the Harbour Bridge, occurring throughout the day.

NSW Police have established a high-visibility operation to boost the safety and security of all runners, event staff and the wider community.

Originally published as Silver medallist Madison de Rozario looks to defend Sydney Marathon title days after Paralympics success