Maryport Paralympic athlete Simon Lawson was praised at a meeting of Allerdale council for his efforts in Rio.
Executive member Councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes said 33-year-old wheelchair racer's efforts in the 2016 Paralympic Games were worthy of recognition.
Simon finished 14th in the men's T54 marathon.
He finished the race in exhausting heat with nothing to drink after his water pack broke during the warm up.
Coun McCarron-Holmes, a Maryport councillor, said: "This young man trains on local roads.
"The Australians have top facilities. He was up against the world's best.
"Had his water bottle not broken he'd have done much more.
"Simon is an example of a really active life."
Cumbria’s only representative at the Paralympics, Simon is a former British championship rider.
He was left paralysed from the chest down after a motorbike crash while practising in July 2001.
He only turned to athletics in 2010.
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