SYDNEY - A photo finish in the women's marathon Sunday denied Japan a gold medal double on the final day of the 11th Paralympic Games in Sydney.
Kazu Hatanaka's quest to match Olympic marathon champion Naoko Takahashi with the gold medal in the women's marathon for wheelchair-bound athletes was denied in the final meters when Jean Driscoll of the United States put on a burst of speed to pass Hatanaka on the inside.
Another Japanese athlete, Wakako Tsuchida, came in third to secure the bronze medal.
Afterwards, the Olympic flame was extinguished at Stadium Australia, marking the end of the 11th Paralympic Games and the biggest ever. International Paralympic Committee President Robert Steadward closed the event with an echo of his Olympic counterpart, Juan Antonio Samaranch, by claiming these were the best games ever.
The Sydney Paralympics opened Oct. 18 just 17 days after the Sydney Olympics had closed at the same stadium. Some 4,000 competitors from 122 countries contested 18 sports.