Agency :
Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat took a wrong turn but still found his way to marathon gold at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday, providing some late drama in the which had been an uneventful race.
After more than 40 kilometers of running through the twisty streets of Birmingham, Kiplangat went off course in the closing stages, but had built up such a large lead that the mistake did no damage.
The 22-year-old was a comfortable winner in a time of two hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds.
Even with the small side trip, Kiplangat crossed in 1:34 of Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu, dropping to his knees to say thank you in the finish area before grabbing a Ugandan flag and soaking up the cheers of another large audience of the Games.
Michael Mugo Githae, the traveling reserve for the Kenyan team, was a late addition to the field and made the most of his opportunity to take the bronze just ahead of Australia’s Liam Adams, who had led for much of the first half of the race.
There was celebration and heartbreak in the men’s wheelchair race.
Gold and plaudits went to England’s Johnboy Smith while it was despair for team mate David Weir.
Six-time Paralympic gold medalist and six-time world champion Weir, 43, looked set to add Commonwealth marathon gold to his list of honors when he suffered a puncture while leading.
“I feel desperate and I’ve never felt despair in a race before,” Weir said. “I was talking to my wife the other day and I said if I had a big lead I could even afford to change a tyre.
“In the end I decided not to bring a spare…I should have gone with my gut.”
It was a big day for England though, with Smith, who was left paralyzed after being shot in the back as a teenager, joined on the podium by team-mate Simon Lawson in bronze, while that Scotland’s Sean Frame took silver.
With just four competitors, Australia’s Madison de Rozario easily defended her Commonwealth marathon title in the women’s race, coming home almost four minutes clear of England’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper.
