The 2024 men’s and women’s CPL Wheelchair Marathons are shaping races for the ages with three defending champions returning in the men’s and the race record holder in the women’s hoping to better her own mark before boarding a Paris-bound plane.

Last year’s men’s winner, Japan’s Kota Hokinoue (50) is back to defend his title against the formidable 2022 champion Jake Lappin and 2015 and 2019 winner Bill Chaffey.

Hokinoue posted a 1:36:35 last year and will be hoping a bit more familiarity with the course this year will help edge him closer to Kurt Fearnley’s 2016 race record of 1:30:18.

Lappin’s 2022 time of 1:37:22 puts him right on Hokinoue’s rims while Chaffey brings the money-can’t-buy experience of being a two-time champion to the start line.

South Australia’s Matthew Brumby (46) will be right amongst the action as will 52-year-old Australian Army veteran Pete Rudland who had his first run over this course last year and will have learned plenty along the way.

He’ll have earlier lined up in Saturday’s 4km event, using the two races and their significantly varying distances to really test his mettle over the weekend.

Japan’s Yukifumi Yamamoto competed over 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon distances at the 1998 and 1992 Paralympic Games and after travelling half way across the world at 69-years-of-age he’s clearly looking for a solid age-defying performance on the Gold Coast.

Meanwhile, the women’s full wheelchair marathon promises plenty of intrigue with race record holder (1:43:45) and two-time winner, NSW’s Christie Dawes, returning to take on a class field of challengers.

Dawes (44) is an icon of the sport having competed in seven Paralympics from Atlanta in 1996 to Tokyo 2020 and in addition to her two Gold Coast wins in 2000 and 2016 placed second in 2019 and 2022 and 2023.

And although she’s hanging up the Paralympics Lycra for a microphone as an expert Channel 9 commentator at Paris 2024, the competitive fire to do well here will still burn bright.

Hoping to steal a bit of the glow will be ACT 30-year-old marathon debutante Mikaela Dingley who burned serious rubber to win the 10km here in 2022 and Victoria’s Sharnie Digby (54).

In the CPL 10km event, last year’s women’s champion and race record holder Emily Tapp (31:41) returns to try for the first back-to back Gold Coast victory over the distance in a three-way race of sorts against accomplished Gold Coast wheelchair racer, 26-year-old Sara Tait and another Gold Coast local and regular overseas competitor Natasha Price (43).

New South Wales speedster Jono Tang will be out to go one better than his 2022 second place, but to do that he’ll need to hold off celebrated Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympian Geoff Trappett (44) and Grant Cunningham from Clear Island Waters who will compete in this race after a 4km race shakedown the day before.

That race is the all-new Wheelchair 4km in which Queensland’s Emily Foster (35) will line up against the 55-year-old Cunningham, 52-year-old Pete Rudland  and another 55-year-old in Craig Johnson who will be hoping their age counts for something against 14-year-old Windaroo schoolboy Josh Brass.

The 2024 Wheelchair 4km is run under Athletics Australia, World Para Athletics and World Athletics rules.

Eighteen racers have entered across the three wheelchair races, with 20 entries in total with Pete and Craig both doing two races.

Nine men and six women will race in the marathon, three men and three women will tackle the 10km while four men and one woman will take part in the inaugural 4km.

Events Management Queensland proudly delivers the annual Gold Coast Marathon presented by ASICS, Toowoomba Marathon presented by Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and the biennial Pan Pacific Masters Games and is proudly supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.

Events Management Queensland acknowledges and pays respect to the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, the Saltwater People of the Gold Coast, as the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which we invite and welcome participants from across the globe to experience our events.