Van Dyk finishes second in Berlin Marathon

Cape Town - Paralympic gold medallist Ernst van Dyk claimed a podium finish in the 40km race at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

Following his gold medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, the veteran South African athlete finished second in a sprint finish with a time of 01:29:53.

Riding for Honda, the South African came two seconds behind winner, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, while Hiroki Nishida of Japan came third with the same time as Van Dyk.

Van Dyk took gold at the Rio Paralympic Games, winning the H5 cycling road race and bagging his eighth Paralympic medal.

The 43-year-old tweeted that he was delighted with his close finish performance in Berlin, saying: “Happy with the 2nd place today. Need to do a bit of work before I hit the final 3 for the year! Next up @ChiMarathon!”

The Chicago Marathon takes place October 9, 2016.

Happy with the 2nd place today. Need to do a bit of work before I hit the final 3 for the year! Next up @ChiMarathon! https://t.co/4rkxEOAk2w

— Ernst van Dyk (@ErnstvanDyk) September 25, 2016