Cumbria's Simon Lawson finished in 14th place in the men's T54 marathon

After an agonising wait, with the start of the race delayed by around five minutes, Marcel Hug and Kurt Fearnley set the early pace.

The early break by the pair proved decisive, with Switzerland’s Hug taking the gold medal, finishing a second ahead of second-placed Fearnley.

Cumbria’s only representative at the Paralympics, Lawson, who felt he could challenge for a medal, struggled to follow the leading pack.

He was in 14th place at the halfway stage and did not improve his position in the second part of the race.

Elsewhere, ParalympicsGB teammate David Weir decided he could not continue following a collision after around 15 minutes of the race, which caused damage to his racing chair.

Reigning champion Weir was one of the poster boys of the London 2012 Paralympics, winning four golds from four events.

But he found the going much tougher in Rio and ended up leaving without any medals.

He announced earlier this week he will retire from the track at the end of the Games.

And his Paralympics went from bad to worse at the end of the first lap of the marathon.

Meanwhile, wheelchair racer Lawson from Maryport was another of the 24 athletes involved in the marathon.

The 34-year-old is a mechanic at Jack Horseman Motorcycles in Carlisle.

Lawson travelled to Brazil last Saturday.

But, before he set off, he published a statement on his Twitter account to thank everyone for their support.

Lawson, a former British championship rider, was involved in a motorbike accident, which left him paralysed from the chest down after he sustained serious injuries in a crash while practising in July 2001.

But he didn’t turn to athletics until 2010.

Lawson is coached by Ian Thompson, who trained and is married to, legendary Paralympic athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Even before the final races of the Rio Games today, ParalympicsGB had already achieved their best medal haul since Seoul 1988.

The marathon took place on Copacabana Beach.