CARCOAR’S wheelchair racing champion Kurt Fearnley has fallen an agonising one second short of a fairytale finish to his celebrated Paralympics career.
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Fearnley pushed himself to the limit in the wheelchair marathon overnight to finish second to his long-time Swiss rival Marcel Hug.
The pair was neck-and-neck over the last 20 metres before Hug grabbed a one-second victory.
Hug embraced an exhausted Fearnley after the finish line.
Fearnley later took to Twitter to thank his fans in Rio de Janeiro for their support.
“Rio Paralympic Marathon is done & dusted. Love my Silver Fox Tom aka Tony Jones. Had a real solid crack today,” he tweeted.
“Also, all this support is pretty crazy!! Thanks for all the amazing kind words. & my teammates, & family screaming on the sidelines!!”
Fearnley’s first Paralympics appearance was in Sydney in 2000.