Rae full of pride after stunning Para Marathon silver

Derek Rae admitted he stunned himself as he carved six minutes off his personal best to claim a stunning silver at the World Para Marathon Championships.

The Scottish athlete crossed the line in 2.27.08 in the T45/46 event at the Virgin Money London Marathon.

It’s Rae’s first major global medal and the perfect indication of intent on the road to the Paralympics in Tokyo.

“It’s a huge PB. I knew I was in good shape coming into this one, at least sub 2:30 shape,” said Rae, who made his Paralympic debut in Rio but struggled in the extreme heat.

“I ran the whole race with confidence but quite conservatively. I don’t think it has sunk in yet, it’ll probably take a few weeks.

“I’m super proud; I’m proud of myself and the team. It’s a great individual achievement but also good to get the team going on the medal table for the World Championships.

“We’ve sacrificed a lot over the last six years; myself, my wife, my team; and now we are starting to reap the rewards. Proud is an understatement.”

David Weir didn’t defend his T54 wheelchair title as a ninth victory in his 20th London Marathon proved a challenge too far after a difficult build-up punctuated by injuries and illnesses.

American Daniel Romanchuk won to complete a clean sweep of this year’s World Marathon Major titles – and, aged just 20, he looks set to be one of the stars of next year’s Games.

“I just didn’t have it,” admitted Weir. “I knew Daniel had it when he put the burners on after Tower Bridge.

“I was slower than previous years, I just had no energy to be honest. I don’t know whether it was the infections I had for a few weeks in the build-up, but I’m not going to make excuses, I just wasn’t good enough.”

Elsewhere, Weir’s training partner JohnBoy Smith finished 11th and Simon Lawson 15th in the men’s wheelchair race.

And Charlotte Ellis, competing in the women’s T11/12, smashed her personal best by two minutes on her British team debut.

“I still got a PB but I wanted it to be a bit quicker than that,” she said, after clocking 3.23:47 to finish eighth.

“We tried to stick to the plan but started to struggle around 21 miles and my calf really started to hurt around 23 miles.

“The atmosphere was amazing. This was unreal, all these people were shouting my name and for Great Britain. It was a great experience.”