Madison has good reason to celebrate third in Tokyo

NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Madison de Rozario’s third place in last weekend’s Tokyo Marathon was hailed by her coach as a special achievement on a number of fronts.

Madison finished the gruelling 42km race behind Switzerland’s Manuela Schar and Japan’s Tsubasa Kina in a time of 1:44: 17, but national wheelchair track and road coach, Louise Sauvage OAM, said the 29-year-old could celebrate some significant achievements that came from the race.

“She’s never completed the Tokyo marathon,” said Louise of the Paralympics reigning marathon champion. “She did Tokyo a few years ago but got hyperthermia.

“While last weekend’s race was run in cool conditions [8.9 Degrees Celsius] on a flat course, it wasn’t as cold as the last time she raced there.”

Louise, who won nine Paralympic gold and four silver medals between 1992-2004, said it was worthy to note Madison completed the race in her new racing wheelchair – a lightweight, full carbon frame chassis with specially designed wheels to ensure low air resistance and high stability.

The wheelchair is the only one of its type in Australia, and Louise wasn’t joking when she said it cost the equivalent of “a new car.” However, she said Madison’s third place was heartening because an athlete normally needed time to feel comfortable racing in a new wheelchair.

“It normally takes six months to get used to it, and she’s only had it for a few months,” said Louise. “But, so far so good. Madi has gone into [using] it wholeheartedly because she stuck with the new one and didn’t switch between her two chairs.”

Competing in Tokyo was the first challenge of Madison’s busy 2023 schedule.

“It’s full on,” said Louise of Madison’s campaign. “She’ll do the London and Boston marathons back-to-back, head to Switzerland for track racing and she’ll then go to the world championships in July.

“I’ve worked with Madi since she was 14 and while we have both obviously evolved, we’ve come a long way together.

“Her two gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games [800m T53 and marathon T54] shows how well she has done. She’s a hard worker, but for her to keep improving we need to keep pushing the boundaries.

“And that is what me, and the rest of our service team, are doing. We’re trying to help her improve in different areas, and to do that we’ll push her as much as we can.”

Meanwhile, Madison’s growing influence in Australian sport was recognised by Nine media in a recent promotion to recognise the 50 most influential women in sport – athletes, media, administrators, sponsors and sports agents – which coincided with International Women’s Day.

Besides her achievements at the Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, world championships, and international marathons, Madison was lauded for her efforts as a ‘prominent advocate for inclusion and the power of sport as a force for disabled people to reclaim their physical selves.’

Daniel Lane, NSWIS