FOR a moment on Sunday morning, champion Carcoar wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley thought he had picked up the sixth Chicago Marathon win of his career.
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He was declared the victor after yet another absorbing battle with Swiss ace Marcel Hug, stopping the clock after one hour, 32 minutes and 58 seconds.
But then officials reviewed the photo finish they saw that it was actually Hug who crossed the line first.
“The tightest finish ever. Led until 10 metres to go, photo finish, second by three inches,” Fearnley tweeted.
Hug, who had finished runner-up to Fearnley 12 months earlier, added his success to victories in the London, Berlin and Boston marathons.
He was also the man who denied Fearnley gold in the men’s marathon at the Rio Paralympic Games last month.
“So close to reversing the result from Rio,” Fearnley said.
“I’ve had a great year so far, but unfortunately Marcel’s has been that bit better.
“Second here is nothing to shrug at. I’m happy with the push and now it’s time to rest up and prepare for one last big effort for the year.”
It took the leading bunch just over 45 minutes to reach the halfway mark of the Chicago Marathon, the second five kilometre split of the race especially quick as they averaged 29km/hr.
But just as they had done in Rio, Hug and Fearnley found something extra to pull clear of their rivals and set up another two-way fight for glory.
Both took turns in the lead as they tried to outfox each other, their chairs actually touching, but a final surge gave Hug the nod.
“I’ve had a few wins here and a couple of seconds now, but I don’t remember any race being as tight as this one,” Fearnley said.
“Full credit to Marcel, he’s been in outstanding form this year and near impossible to beat.
“I get one more crack in New York in a few weeks and hopefully I’ll be leading through the finish line rather than 10 centimetres before it.”
Fearnley will be making his 11th start in the the New York Marathon on November 6, and aiming for his sixth victory.
Last year he placed fifth to Ernst Van Dyk.
The result in Chicago mirrored the one in Rio last month, where Fearnley missed gold by just five metres – or one second on the clock – after a gruelling one-on-one contest with Hug.
The pair split from the pack early and went head-to-head for the rest of the five-lap event in sapping conditions at Rio's famous Copacabana beach.
It was only within sight of the finish line that Hug, 30, broke the Australian.
