Tokyo Paralympics: Australians tipped for Paralympic marathon medals

Five Aussies will line up for the Tokyo Paralympics marathons, and all are in medal contention. This will be the last opportunity to add to Australia’s medal haul before the closing ceremony.

Jaryd Clifford competes in the Men's 5000m – T12 final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Picture: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Australia’s last shot at winning more gold at the Tokyo Paralympics will come down to the hardest and most punishing event of all – the marathon.

Australia has five entrants in three of the marathon classes – and all have live chances of getting on the podium – with the races starting and finishing at the Olympic stadium.

Australia has three entrants in the women’s wheelchair race: Madi de Rozario, Eliza Ault-Connell and Christie Dawes plus two runners in the men’s races that will pass some of Tokyo‘s most iconic attractions, including the Asakusa Kaminarimon Gate, the Tokyo Skytree, the Nihonbashi and Ginza districts, Zojoji Temple, Tokyo Tower, and the Imperial Palace Garden.

Six-time Paralympian and three-time medallist Christie Dawes. Picture: David Swift

Amputee Michael Roeger is the world record holder and favourite in the T46 race, while Jaryd Clifford holds the world record in the visually impaired category.

They set their world records in the same race, in Sydney in April, with one planned and the other an ‘accident’.

Clifford, who won a silver medal in the 5000m and a bronze in the 1500m, is better known as a middle distance track runner but agreed to join his good mate Roeger in the marathon as a pacer.

Eliza Ault-Connell. Picture: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The plan was for him to set a strong tempo then pull out after 30km but he felt so good that he kept going and promptly broke the T12 world record after Roeger broke the T46 record.

Mercifully, Mother Nature has come to the Australians’ rescue.

Paralympic athlete, Michael Roeger competing in the 2019 London Marathon. He finished first in the T45/46 Category.

Clifford vomited and needed medical treatment after succumbing to Tokyo’s stifling humidity during his 500m race but the forecast for Sunday’s marathon is for cooler, wet conditions.

“It’s a different kind of beast,” said Clifford.

“And it’s a beast that I think I’ll be able to handle even better than the heat on the track in the stadium, it’s a different type of thing.”

So far, Australia has won three medals in athletics, with Vanessa Low winning the long jump, de Rozario winning the 800m and James Turner the 400m.

Madi de Rozario. Picture: Christopher Jue/Getty Images

Turner also collected a silver in the 100m on Saturday after being badly distracted at the start when the runner in the adjacent lane to him – Malaysian Mohamad Puzi – moved early.

That was enough to throw the Australian off and although he finished strongly to take second place behind China’s Deng Peicheng in a time of 11.85, it cost him another gold.

The race should have been re-run and Australian officials considered lodging a protest.

Left to right: David Devine of Team Great Britain, El Amin Chentouf of Team Morocco and Jaryd Clifford of Team Australia compete in Men's 5000m. Picture: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

But they withdrew after being told that the only possible result was that the Puzi – who finished fourth – would be disqualified.

“I absolutely let myself get distracted,” Turner told Channel 7.

“I saw movement next to me and my body wanted to go with it and I let it so I‘ve really got to put the blinders on for next time.

“It was my mistake to let that get to me and I‘ve got to learn from it.

“Come Paris I want to be in a position where I don‘t make those mistakes and I can capitalise on every opportunity.”