A perfect finish to win the race in 1hr 30min 20sec. 09 September 2012

The astonishing 33-year-old from Wallington overcame early lethargy in the stiflingly hot conditions to provide one more dazzling performance and cap his achievements in winning the 5,000m, 1500m and 800m over a week in which he offered his sport a brilliant new profile. “I’m so happy. It was the toughest race of my life,” he declared.

The six-time London Marathon winner clocked one hour 30 minutes and 20 seconds to beat Marcel Hug of Switzerland into second place by a second, with defending champion Kurt Fearnley of Australia taking bronze, also a second behind Weir.

Weir, who had already collected golds in the T54 800m, 1500m and 5000m, rounded off his London 2012 campaign a with a sprint finish along The Mall that left his opponents battling it out for silver and bronze.

On the track, Weir proved unbeatable and even though he started the marathon as a red-hot favourite in the red-hot conditions, his competitors were determined not to let him has his way.

“Everyone was working together to stop me but I’m used to that and I do my own thing and race as best as I can,” he said.

“It was tough, the first five miles I was just dying and felt really flat and I didn’t think I could do it.

“It was the toughest race of my life. I really had to dig deep but I knew I had lots of top speed and that I was rolling a lot better than the other guys.

“I just sprinted as hard as I could at the finish. I thought I might have gone too early but I just pushed with everything I had and when I had a sneaky look back I realised I’d won it.

“Emotionally it will probably take forever to recover from this. I don’t know how long it will take to recover physically, it depends on how many beers I have.

“The crowd were awesome for the whole race. My whole body was tingling and they got me through with their support.”