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Claire Lomas

We are used to seeing London Marathon competitors running in clown gear, animal outfits and even dressed as a diver, but Claire Lomas from Melton Mowbray is the first to do the course using a bionic suit, her courageous progress slow but sure over some 16 days. Those others overcome self-imposed difficulties, their suits slowing them down, whereas Claire’s suit enables her to walk, beating the results of a terrible accident suffered in 2007 that left her paralysed from the chest down. She shares a common cause with them, however, in that by covering the 26.2 miles she will raise a considerable sum of money for charity. When the race began more than two weeks ago she was in a field of 36,000, of whom she is the last to complete the distance. She will not receive a medal, the rules stating that only those finishing within the day are so rewarded. But she, her family and supporters and indeed anyone aware of her feat will know beyond all doubt that her personal battle has proved a magnificent triumph.

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Tolpuddle Martyrs Sentenced - 1834, Argentine Forces land on South Georgia - 1982
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