Blauwet wins third L.A. marathon
A little downtime hasn't hurt the racing skills of second-year medical student Cheri Blauwet, who on Sunday won the women's wheelchair division of the Los Angeles Marathon for the third consecutive year.
Blauwet bettered her time this year, finishing the 26.2-mile race in 1:51:45, compared with last year's time of 1:54:02. "Last year, I broke out early and was pretty much by myself from mile 13 on," she said, "but this year I had competition until the finish."
The L.A. event was Blauwet's first major race since competing in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens in September, where she won a gold and two bronze medals. A month earlier, she finished fifth in an Olympic demonstration 800-meter wheelchair race.
Also in 2004, she won her division of both the Boston and New York marathons. She plans to compete in both races again this year and is looking at races in South Korea and England.
For her achievements, Blauwet was picked Tuesday by the Laureus World Sports Award as one of its six nominees for the 2005 Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. The winner will be named May 16 in Portugal.
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