WHEN champion Carcoar wheelchair racing athlete Kurt Fearnley literally began his push for a sixth International Paralympic Committee World Championships medal in Doha today he also had a bigger prize in mind.

Fearnley lined up in the second heat of the men’s T54 1,500 metres event at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium in the early hours of the morning Australian time (2.32am) with a view to qualifying for tomorrow’s final.

Fearnley will also contest the 5,000m event while he is in Doha.

But while the former CSU student will no doubt be working as hard as he can for victory in those events, they also form part of a reconnaissance mission for Fearnley.

The world titles will give him an idea of how much work he has to do as he looks ahead to the Rio Paralympic Games next September.

“The world champs will be a good way for me to see what the rest of the world are doing on the track,” he said.

“I haven’t seen a lot of these wheelchair racers since London, so if I want to have a crack at multiple medals in Rio, I need to see what the best in the world are doing right now.”

Fearnley headed to Doha on the back of his fifth Chicago Marathon crown, beating out a number of the men who will be his rivals both at the world titles and in Rio such as Marcel Hug, Josh Cassidy and Ernst Van Dyk.

In what was a tightly contested marathon, Fearnley pulled away from the pack of 12 other competitors in the final 400 metres to win in a time of one hour, 30 minutes and 46 seconds.

“Midway through that race there were 12 other guys in the pack, we were going at a good pace and I had this feeling that I was going to win,” Fearnley said.

“I felt really strong and aggressive and confident, and that’s such a good feeling, so I’m still loving that. It’s a good gig.

“That was a big confidence boost. To jump away by a couple of seconds in the last 400 metres was a handy way to finish.”

Getting the jump on his rivals on the track will be a tougher assignment, his 1,500m heat including world record holder Hug and his close friend Cassidy. They are the pair who joined him on the Chicago podium.

While only Hug has a better personal best – the Swiss ace’s record standing a two minutes, 54.51 seconds and Fearnley’s mark a 2:54.75 – he does face stiff opposition.

It is part of an overall trend in his chosen sport, the 34-year-old conceding winning races now is harder than what it was in his younger years.

“There were a few years there where wins were easy,” he said.

“I remember knocking out 10 marathon wins in a year, but it’s not like that anymore.

“You look at the world wheelchair majors over the past three years, no-one would have won two. 

“We traditionally have four major marathons and every single one of those have been won by a different athlete over a 12-month period.”

The men’s 5,000m heats will be held in the early hours of Monday morning Australian time and while Fearnley will again face tough opposition, he is determined to do well in what is his final full season on the international circuit.

After Doha Fearnley will head to the United States where he will attempt to defend his New York Marathon crown on November 1.

He will allow himself a short break of seven to 10 days in Australia for Christmas before climbing back into the saddle and competing at the Tokyo Marathon in February.

Then he will train and prepare in Europe and the United States in the middle of next year in the lead-up to Rio.

It is a busy schedule, but one he is looking forward to.

“If you have three weeks off, it takes six weeks to get back. I can’t afford that anymore,” he said.

“Traditionally when I have a good Chicago, I have a good New York. So when you get on that roll, you’re hard to beat,” Fearnley, who won in New York from 2006-2009 and last year, continued.

“I’m a little bit grateful that I’ve already got that win up [in Chicago] for this year, and also still pretty confident about how I’m feeling about New York.”