Paralympic Games: Wheelchair marathon the final act for legends Kurt Fearnley and David Weir

THE Rio Paralympic wheelchair marathon brings the curtain down on the careers of two legends in Aussie champion Kurt Fearnley and British great David Weir.

Kurt Fearnley claimed bronze in 5000m T54 at this year’s Paralympic Games.

IT will be the end of an era when wheelchair racing’s grand old lions, Aussie legend Kurt Fearnley and England great David Weir, close their Paralympic Games careers in the marathon early on Monday morning.

The pair, who have combined to win the past three T54 marathons dating back to 2004, have each announced Rio’s closing event of the 2016 Games will be their swan song in the Paralympics arena, ruling out a tilt at Tokyo 2020.

Fearnley is openly targeting an international farewell on home soil at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, while Weir on Saturday declared the 42.2km Rio criterium would be his final Paralympic event.

Weir swept the T54 class in London four years ago, winning gold in each of the 800m, 1500m and 5000m track events, as well as the marathon.

But the 37-year-old, who made his Paralympics debut in Atlanta 1996 aged 17, conceded “I’m just not good enough anymore”, following a seventh placing in the T54 800m event at Olympic Stadium.

The 800m race was won by the category’s emerging superstar, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, who claimed his breakthrough Paralympics gold medal.

Fearnley said the younger Hug had taken the sport to a new level and was the natural successor to both he and Weir.

“The thing is with Hug, he’s possibly the nicest bloke you could ever bloody find,” said Fearnley, winner of the 2004 and 2008 Paralympic T54 marathons.

Fearnley will finish his career at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

“It’s unfortunate, because you can’t hate him.

“But he’s done the miles, he’s got every single world record, knocked everything off in all the major marathons. He’s no slouch.

“He’s put a very large target on his back because even early in the season he came out and showed that he’s not messing about. He’s chasing that gold medal.

“Everyone will be looking at hunting down Marcel because he’s showed a lot of aggression and that he can hold off an incredibly strong field.”

A crestfallen Weir, whose sole Paralympic marathon victory came at home in London 2012, announced following his 800m seventh placing he could no longer keep up with the next generation.

Weir was the star of his home Games in 2012 but will call time after Rio.

“How do you think I f … ing feel, it’s just so disappointing,” said Weir, winner of six Paralympic gold medals when asked for his thoughts.

“The sport has evolved over the last four years and I’m just not good enough.

“Sunday [Monday AEST] will be an emotional day for me. It will be my last Paralympic race. It will be a big one and a hot one.”

The T54 men’s marathon is scheduled to start at 1.30am on Monday morning.

Aussies Christie Dawes and Emily Tapp are scheduled to race the women’s T53-54 marathon.

Originally published as Paralympic Games: Wheelchair marathon the final act for legends Kurt Fearnley and David Weir