Maddocks walks into history

Throughout these games advertisements have featured John Akhwari, the Tanzanian marathon runner who finished last in the Mexico Olympics 32 years ago, more than an hour behind the winner. When asked why he had not dropped out he replied, "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it."

Britain's Chris Maddocks yesterday showed himself to be the modern-day embodiment of Akhwari. The 43-year-old Plymouth man, the first British male track-and-field athlete to compete in five Olympics, finished the 50km walk in 39th place, almost 70 minutes after the winner - and nearly 30 minutes behind the 38th-placed competitor.

The 94,000 spectators in the stadium raised cheers as loud and as long as those given the winners to acclaim the British veteran, who battled a hamstring injury to finish the race.

"That was the most painful 50km I have ever done," he said. "It was the most emotional thing I've ever experienced at the finish."

Loudspeakers belted out the song I'm Gonna Be, by the Scottish pop group the Proclaimers, with the refrain "I would walk 500 miles", as Maddocks finished in a time of 4hr 52min 4sec.

As he accepted the applause, the song These Boots Are Made For Walking beat out around the stadium. The race was won by Robert Korzeniowski of Poland in 3:42:22.

Maddocks ploughed a lonely furrow on the sun-drenched Sydney streets and was determined to carve his own place in British Olympic history by defying the pain to finish. Only the support he received on the road kept him going at times as he was told what awaited him in the stadium.

"I knew I was setting some sort of record by getting to the games, which had been tough," said Maddocks. "But I have never dropped out of a major championship and this was my 21st. I was so pleased to get to the finish - it was even better than I imagined.

"My friends and family and the crowd on the road were amazing. People from all nationalities were giving me support. They were talking to me, saying what it was going to be like at the finish. I felt they were trying to keep me going with white lies. But they were not lying: it was the most amazing reception."