SMITH COMPLETES MARATHON DREAM (11/9/04)

SMITH COMPLETES MARATHON DREAM

By BRIAN LEWIS
http://www.nypost.com/sports/31868.htm

November 9, 2004 --
Leslie Smith finished the New York City Marathon in 6:33.03, long after Paula Radcliffe and Hendrik Ramaala had won their crowns. But chances are neither will ever have a triumph sweeter than Smith had.

The 35-year-old Army captain crossed the finish line in her hand-crank wheelchair, flanked by the brother who was constantly by her Walter Reed Hospital bedside for five months before and after her amputation, and Mary Bryant, the Achilles Track Club trainer who made her marathon dream a reality.

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