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Andrew Tomlinson, a Glasgow-based financial assistant who suffers from hemiplegia, has broken the world record for the fastest marathon completed by an athlete affected by the condition. Tomlinson finished this year’s London Marathon in an impressive time of 3:58:53, taking almost two hours off the previous world record. A hemiplegic athlete is someone who has paralysis on one side of their body. Tomlinson’s left side is affected.
On the day that he finished the London Marathon, Tomlinson also collected his Six Star Finisher medal for completing the World Marathon Majors. This achievement signals that Tomlinson has completed six of the most prestigious marathons in the world over the course of several years. In 2021, he ran the Berlin Marathon, followed by the New York City Marathon a year later. In 2023 he successfully completed the Boston and Chicago marathons before finishing Tokyo earlier this year. In doing so, he has joined a club of just 17,026 runners worldwide.
Andrew Tomlinson has hypertonic cerebral palsy, and he is thought to be the first runner affected by such a condition to earn the coveted medal of Six Star Finisher. His childhood was tumultuous, and given his traumatic birth, his doctors feared that he might never walk, let alone run marathons. He has achieved greatness despite numerous challenges along the way, and his success serves as a testament to the strength of his will.
In an interview with BBC Scotland News, Tomlinson commented, “It’s actually just emotional thinking about it because every challenge I’ve had, every barrier that’s been put up, it proves that anything is possible.” While Tomlinson’s triumph over adversity is truly remarkable, it is clear that there is still work to do in terms of raising awareness around hemiplegia, cerebral palsy, and related conditions. Nevertheless, it is through the success of individuals like Andrew Tomlinson that we are reminded of what humans are capable of achieving when we put our minds to it
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