Hutt Valley physiotherapist Quentin Rew finished 30th in the Olympic 50km walk last night and immediately collapsed into a wheelchair.
Rew, who qualified with a time of 3h 58m 48s in Dundine, Slovakia, this year, was at the tail of the field of 63 early on but worked his way steadily through the back half and clocked 3h 55m 03s on a hot London morning.
He was one of several walkers who needed assistance on crossing the finish line and was wheeled off to be checked out by medical officials.
The course at The Mall comprised 25 2km laps, passing Buckingham Palace.
Russian and Chinese walkers were prominent throughout and Russian police officer Sergey Kirdyapkin won in an Olympic record time of 3h 35m 59s, clipping 1m 10s off the old mark of disgraced Italian drug cheat Alex Schwazer in 2008.
