Hokinoue and de Rozario star in Gold Coast Recreation and Sport Wheelchair Marathon

Japan’s Kota Hokinoue and Australia’s Madison de Rozario produced outstanding performances to claim the men’s and women’s Gold Coast Recreation and Sport Wheelchair Marathon titles on Sunday morning.

Hokinoue delivered a commanding display to win the men’s race in 1:39:02, adding another prestigious marathon victory to his decorated international career.

The Japanese star won the race in 2023 before finishing second in 2024 and 2025.

“It feels great frankly, very happy to be the first-place winner again,” Kota said.

“I wanted to race Sam and Jake [previous winners] but they weren’t here, so I basically had to race by myself.

“I was aiming for a PB but it didn’t happen this year. Very happy with the win though.”

He crossed the line almost 10 minutes clear of Australian rookie Tristan Orchard (1:48:13), with Bill Chaffey completing the podium in 1:52:22.

For Orchard it was a huge result given it was his first time in a racing chair.

“I did it a couple of times in my day chair, so a little bit quicker, so fantastic. From the start Koda just went and you could tell he’s on another level.

“I’m really happy. I can’t really describe it to be honest, I’ve been working pretty hard to get here, hopefully it’s only up from here.”

Chaffey, a two-time race winner on the Gold Coast, said of his third place:

“It’s my local race. I live at Tweed Heads, so I’m pretty much a Gold Coaster, and this is just a fantastic race.

“I got broken today at 29km, Tristan just pulled away from me, and I just couldn’t keep going with him.”

In the women’s race, de Rozario further cemented her status as one of the Gold Coast Marathon’s greatest champions, claiming her fifth Wheelchair Marathon title in 1:57:03.

The five-time Paralympian once again showcased her class on one of her favourite courses, adding another Gold Coast triumph to an extraordinary career that includes two Paralympic gold medals, eight Paralympic medals, four Commonwealth Games gold medals, multiple London Marathon victories and becoming the first Australian woman to win the New York City Marathon wheelchair division.

“The energy on this course is one of my favourites in the world, I think it’s one of the reasons we always try to come back.

“The way it’s designed you get to see so many of the runners as well, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the marathon that we don’t always get to experience in the elite field.

“I was feeling pretty flat out there today to be honest, 15km I was really fighting for it, just to get through to 42km.

On her fifth victory on the Gold Coast she said: “You don’t think about it when you’re out there but it’s nice.

“There’s so many legends in our sport and to kind of like come anywhere near some of the numbers is always exciting.”

Second in the women’s was Sharnie Digby in 2:59:30. Digby also competed in the 10km and 5km wheelchair races yesterday, capping off an incredible weekend today with a podium result.

Gold Coast Recreation and Sport Wheelchair Marathon 

Madison De Rozario