Staring straight ahead, puffing out his cheeks while spinning his wheelchair towards the finish line, 58-year-old Guo Guangdong attracted a lot of attention along the 2020 Xi'an Marathon track. Nobody knew who the man in the yellow T-shirt was, but everyone was cheering up for him, "A16560! Go get it!" A16560 was his running bib number.
Guo Guangdong (left)
Guo finished the whole race with a time of 3:17:21 but he was not satisfied with the result. The next day, Guo started his daily marathon training as usual.
Without any coach or supervisor, Guo treats his hobby seriously and always wants to challenge himself to make the best of it. At 6:00 am sharp every morning, nothing can stop Guo from going for a 15-kilometer run. "This is how I get along with myself after being physically disabled," Guo admitted.
19 years ago, Guo encountered bad weather conditions while flying a paraglider and ended up crashing into a mountain, leaving him paralyzed and unable to feel anything from the waist down.
Guo Guangdong
It was truly devastating, but Guo managed to hold up and stepped out of it one year after the accident. "I know that I won't be able to stand again. It's the reality," said Guo. "Life goes on no matter what happens. You'll have to learn to live with it and move on with strength."
With this optimism, Guo learned to drive without using his feet, and went for road trips in Europe while traveling to Sanya and Tibet several times. Guo has made the impossible possible along the way.
Guo's passion for sports also gives him the courage to face what's to come. "Nothing bothers me when I do sports. I feel like I can go as far as I want," Guo said as he smiles.
2020 Xi'an Marathon
Guo used to be a basketball player before the accident and he didn't give it up afterwards. As he grew older, Guo fell for marathon instead and challenged himself with a full marathon in his first ever race. "I was really surprised with the result," said Guo. "I thought it would take at least 4 hours but I finished the race with a time of 3 hours and 26 minutes."
Taking part in an average of 15 marathon events annually, Guo has become an icon for other wheelchair runners. "I want everyone to know that if I can get everything done without limitations, so can they."
58-year-old Guo Guangdong attracted a lot of attention along the 2020 Xi'an Marathon track.
As he trains for two upcoming marathon races in November, Guo has set up a goal of breaking 3 hours, which is the best record for a wheelchair marathon runner. "I might be getting old, but I'm getting better at the same time," said Guo with confidence.
NEW YORK (AP) — Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui used strong kicks in the final mile to pull away from their nearest competitors and both win the New York City Marathon for the first time Sunday.
Nageeye, who became the first runner from the Netherlands to win the men's race, was step-for-step with 2022 champion Evans Chebet before using a burst of speed heading into Central Park for the final time to come away with the win in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 39 seconds. Chebet finished 6 seconds behind.
“At the finish I was like, am I’m dreaming? I won New York,” Nageeye said.
He had run the New York race three times before with his best finish coming in 2022, when he was third.
“I know the course,” Nageeye said. “Today was two things: survive that race and my race is after 36 (kilometers; 22 miles). I was thinking like a cyclist, survive 36K and you’re going to win.”
Chepkirui was running New York for the first time and pulled away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the women's race in the last stretch.
“Let me push the last mile, let me give it my best,” the Kenyan said. "When we were around 600 meters to go, I said to myself I have to push harder. When I saw Hellen wasn’t coming, I knew I was going to win and was so happy.”
Chepkirui, who started to run marathons in 2022, won in 2:24.35. Obiri finished nearly 15 seconds behind.
Obiri was looking to be the first consecutive champion since Mary Keitany of Kenya won three in a row from 2014-16. Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya finished third, giving the African nation the top three spots.
Tamirat Tola, the men's defending champion and Paris Olympic gold medalist, finished fourth, right behind Albert Korir.
“I had a good year,” Tola told The Associated Press through a translator. “I won the Olympics and then to come back to New York after that, you know it's a tough course. I know that I expended a lot of energy. Around the 33-kilometer mark I felt my muscle tighten and my muscles just couldn't handle it.”
Tola, who set the course record last year, was looking to be the first back-to-back men's champion since Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya won in 2011 and 2013. The 2012 race was canceled because of Superstorm Sandy.
The top Americans finished sixth in both races. Conner Mantz led the men and Sara Vaughn the women. Vaughn was in the lead group heading into Mile 20 when they entered the Bronx before she dropped off the lead pack.
Vaughn was geared up to run Chicago before COVID-19 kept her from competing in that race. She was a late addition to this marathon.
The day got started with an upset in the men's wheelchair race as three-time defending champion Marcel Hug was beaten by Daniel Romanchuk, who also won in 2018 and 2019. Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race. It was her second victory in New York, also taking the 2022 race and giving Americans winners in both events — the first time that has happened.
The 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course took runners through all five boroughs of New York, starting in Staten Island and ending in Central Park. This is the 48th year the race has been in all five boroughs. Before that, the route was completely in Central Park when it began in 1970. The first race had only 55 finishers while more than 50,000 competed this year.
A few hours after the top runners finished, it was announced that the Sydney Marathon would become the seventh world major marathon, joining Berlin, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, London and New York.
The weather was perfect to run in with temperatures in the lower 40s when the race started. Last year, it was 61 degrees when the race started.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui smiles after winning the women's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Women's division winner Sheila Chepkirui, right, poses with men's divsion winner Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, right, runs to crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, poses after winning the men's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui crosses the finish line to win the women's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui crosses the finish line to win the women's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Abdi Nageeye, of the Netherlands, crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Susannah Scaroni crosses poses for photographs after winning the women's wheelchair division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
First place finisher Daniel Romanchuck, left, poses with second place finisher David Weir, of England, and Tomoki Zuzuki, of Japan, right, after winning the men's wheelchair division of the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Yuma Morii, of Japan, center, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Yuma Morii, left, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Yuma Morii, right center, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Yuma Morii, right, of Japan, makes his way onto the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with runners in the men's elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Yuma Morii, of Japan, right, makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows bridge with the elite men's division runners during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York.(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Runners in the men's elite division make their way through the Brooklyn borough during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
