It looked easy, but in fact it was one of the hardest wins of Madison de Rozario's career.
The Australian dominated the women's T53/54 marathon in Birmingham, winning in a Commonwealth Games record of 1 hour and 56 minutes.
"Some races are hard because of the actual race and how it runs strategically and tactically, and sometimes it's just the 42km that gets you," she told ABC Sport.
"Today it was during the course itself that got me. I hit a wall at about 27 [km] just because of the hills and the turns and it was incredibly complicated. But the energy out there was unreal, so definitely made up for it."
Even more impressive is the fact that de Rozario's chair was damaged while in transit to Birmingham.
A quick fix was made so she could stabilise and steer correctly, but it was precarious, especially with her 1,500m defence still to come.
"It's zip-tied together right now. We were hopeful it would hold on for the road, [but] we're not sure how it will go on the track," she said.
"Right now the entire stability of my race chair is hanging on by about 3 millimetres of thread and so I definitely kept my eye on it all throughout that race."
De Rozario said she spoke with support staff before the race, to prepare for the worst-case scenario if the quick fix did not hold.
"We're going down those hills about 50 kilometres an hour, and that would be the worst time for a part of your chair to break. So I was like 'What should I look out for? What are the warning signs? Will I know before it breaks? Will death just creep up on me?'."
It all went smoothly for the defending Commonwealth Games and Paralympic champion, who was one of only four athletes in the event, with two from Australia and two from England, meaning no bronze medal was awarded in the event.
De Rozario said more can be done to prioritise the needs of women with disabilities in sport, with the scheduling of the marathon before the track events making it hard to attract a bigger field.
"It was an incredibly challenging marathon, when the track is a better place for medal chances," she said.
"So there needs to be people's lived experiences making the decisions in those rooms.
"And hopefully come Comm Games back at home again [Victoria 2026], we can retain both these events and have it structured in a way that really allows us to have a full field and more opportunities so athletes that aren't able to make the Paralympic teams [have the] opportunity to get a taste of wheelchair racing, fall in love with it, see it and stay in."
De Rozario is due to defend her 1,500m title on the track.
Dawes disappointed but driven to improve
Fellow Australian Christie Dawes finished fourth and the seven-time Paralympian was deflated afterwards.
"I usually do eight or nine marathons a year pre-COVID, and post-COVID I've done three in three years," she said.
"I'm completely disappointed with my place, but you can't let the pride get in the way, you've just got to keep going.
"I just have to be content with that, whether you're first or last, you give it 100 per cent, I've left nothing out there."
Drama in men's race with Weir's equipment failure
Australian Jake Lappin finished fifth in the men's race, won by England's Johnboy Smith.
Pre-race favourite, England's David Weir, was 90 seconds clear of Smith with less than 10 kilometres to go when he punctured a tyre.
In an incredible show of commitment, one of the greats of the sport still pushed all the way to the line to finish seventh, almost 25 minutes after the winner.
"If Her Majesty the Queen is watching or listening, give him a knighthood. He deserves to be Sir David Weir," Smith said.
Ironically, Weir had considered packing a spare.
"In the end I decided not to carry a spare … I should have gone with my gut instinct," Weir said.
But not finishing the race was not an option.
"Where I've come from, on a council estate, I don't give up," he said.
