Gold Coast Marathon 2018: Madison De Rozario continues winning ways on the Coast

THE Gold Coast Marathon did not fit into Madison De Rozario’s schedule but the golden afterglow of the Commonwealth Games was too much to resist.

THE Gold Coast Marathon did not really fit into Madison De Rozario’s packed schedule this season.

But the golden glow of the city in the aftermath of the Commonwealth Games was too much for De Rozario to resist.

The 24-year-old was one of the stars of the Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the wheelchair marathon after winning the T54 1500m on the track earlier in the program.

A week later, she snared the prestige London marathon title, a back-to-back effort not even Kurt Fearnley could manage.

Returning for the city’s premier annual sporting event was a no-brainer for the rising star.

“This wasn’t a race that fitted into my program this year particularly well but I desperately wanted to come back,” De Rozario said.

“I had two weeks off after track racing a month ago, so I’ve only had a week-and-a-half training for it.

“It was so good being here in April and I’m so glad I did (get here), the vibe is amazing and the race is amazing and I’m really glad I came for it.”

Gold Coast Marathon wheelchair race winners Josh George and Madison De Rozario with Daphne Pirie. Photo by Richard Gosling

De Rozario finished second overall in the category behind Josh George, although her time was almost five minutes outside Christie Dawes’ 2016 course record.

But with another two marathons this year, including the prestige New York race, de Rozario has to manage a huge workload, something she said she and coach Louise Sauvage worked well to do.

“I’m so lucky my coach Louise Sauvage, she’s very structured and very organised, so quite early we worked out realistically what we can do in a year and what we have to do to make it work and be the best at each race,” she said.

After her efforts on the Gold Coast — and the retirement of Australian captain Kurt Fearnley, De Rozario is set to step up even further as her profile continues to rise.

“Honestly it’s going to be weird having Kurt gone,” De Rozario said.

“He’s been on every team I’ve ever been on and he’s a really great friend and great teammate and he’s done such incredible things for the sport.

“I think all of us are so proud of what he’s done, not just as an athlete but as an advocate and ambassador.

“And it’s really cool to come and have that friendship and someone like that in all of our lives.

“It’s big shoes to fill but I’m going to keep doing my thing and hopefully I can live up to it.”