The women's marathon T54 was a marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 event in athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing National Stadium from September 8 to September 17. There were 160 gold medals in this sport.-Classification:Athletes are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, for wheelchair athletes. It was the only marathon event held for women (whereas there were four marathons held for men, in various categories). Wheelchair athletes with a disability level more severe than T54 (i.e., T53) were permitted to compete in the T54 marathon. Ten athletes, from seven countries, took part; defending champion Kazu Hatanaka

Kazu Hatanaka

is a paralympic athlete from Japan competing mainly in category T54 wheelchair racing events.Kazu competed in the 400m, 800m and marathon at the 1992 Summer Paralympics without any medal success. But in 1996 she broke that duck winning a bronze medal in the 5000m and a silver in the 10000m and...

 of Japan was not among them.

The result was extremely close. Edith Hunkeler

Edith Hunkeler

Edith Hunkeler is a Swiss wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic and Paralympic level.Hunkeler was in a car accident at age 22 which left her a paraplegic. She began wheelchair racing two years later....

 of Switzerland won the gold medal, setting a new Paralympic record in 1:39:59, just one second ahead of the United States' Amanda McGrory

Amanda McGrory

-Biography:At the age of five, Amanda contracted a rare virus which left her unable to walk. Her parents say she became depressed but that all changed after Amanda’s parents introduced her to the Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center. There, Amanda met other children with various disabilities...

, and two seconds ahead of compatriot Sandra Graf

Sandra Graf

Sandra Graf is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Graf competes in wheelchair races of a variety of distances. She has twice put her career on hold to have children. In 2003 a lung embolism set back her training and kept her from competing in the marathon and 5000 meter distances, although she still...

. The top eight athletes finished within a minute of one another, and the top five within five seconds.

Results

Place	|Athlete	|	|Class	|	|Time
1			T54		1:39:59 (PR)
2		T53	1:40:00
3		T54	1:40:01
4		T54	1:40:03
5		T53	1:40:04
6		T54	1:40:12
7		T54	1:40:26
8		T54	1:40:37
9		T53	1:54:27
10		T54	1:57:19