Race Report: Wheelchair 4km race joins the Gold Coast Marathon presented by ASICS suite of events

A 14-year-old from Windaroo and a wheelchair racing newbie snared a piece of history on Saturday morning as the first ever winners of the Gold Coast Wheelchair 4km Race.

Josh Brass (15:33) has been wheelchair racing since the tender age of six and has the legendary Kurt Fearnley as his inspiration.

And as far as tactics go, he said he just went for it.

“I started to get some speed especially from the hill at the start, I had the momentum and I kept powering forward,” Josh said of his simple but effective strategy.

For women’s winner, Gold Coaster Emily Foster (24:05), it was victory on debut.

“I feel amazing, this was incredible experience for me,” Emily said. “This is my first ever race, I only started training seven weeks ago, every Saturday under coach Garth Plank.

“This sport has given me a new spark and a new love of life,” she said.