Weir's golden treble

British athlete David Weir showed the rest of the world he is still the man to beat in the run-up to Beijing as he powered home in a sprint finish to take his third successive London Marathon victory.

In an eventful men’s wheelchair race, Weir produced his now trademark explosive pace down the final stretch of The Mall to finish just four seconds ahead of last year’s runner-up, Australian Kurt Fearnley, in a time of 1:33.56.

It was a particularly impressive performance from Fearnley, who overcame a crash with Japanese athlete Choke Yasuoka after just six miles, and later a puncture around the 12-mile mark.

There was further drama in the closing stages, as Ernst Van Dyk and Joshua George collided in the final 100m, resulting in the pair crashing into the spectator barriers, effectively ruining both racers’ chances of a medal.

All in all, seven racers entered the closing stages with a chance of winning the race, making it one of the most closely-contested men’s races for many years.

“It was a very good race, very tough,” Weir told Disability Now. “The racers call me “the hammer” now, because I was hammering along trying to break them. It was probably the toughest race so far.

“The time wasn’t so quick but I didn’t have the best preparation leading up to this race. I think if I was more confident I would have led the race all the way.”

On yet another close finish, the three-time champion said: “I prefer it like that because of my sprinting ability. Kurt did well. He crashed at six miles but caught us back up, and he got a puncture as well. He’s a strong character and one to watch at Beijing.”

The women’s race also had its fair share of incident, with Britain’s Shelly Woods having to settle for third place after suffering a puncture just three miles into the race.

It was a bitter blow for the 21-year-old from Blackpool, who was widely tipped to add to her 2007 London crown.

She told us: “I kept going but I had to change my tyre and I just couldn’t catch back up again. I left it as long as I could before I changed it.

“Every hill that you go up, it feels like you’re pushing through sand! In the end I had to change it and I was just happy to get home.”

Her misfortune cleared the way for the experienced Swiss racer Sandra Graf to take the title in a time of 1:48.04, ahead of the young American Amanda McGrory in 1:51.58.

Woods was philosophical about the way the race panned out.

“I’m not happy with my performance, but it was beyond my control. It happens.”