PARALYMPIAN David Weir secured Team GB's final gold of London 2012 and his fourth win of the Games in the T54 marathon.

The wheelchair-using 33-year-old's triumph, which followed success in the 5000m, 1500m and 800m, meant he matched Sarah Story as Britain's most successful athlete at the Games.

Despite his exertions on the track, the Londoner summoned up the strength over the final 500m to make a decisive break his rivals could not match.

Speaking after the race on the Mall, he said: "I had to be in super-human shape to win four and I've done it. That was the toughest race I've ever raced in my life.

"They were all working together to try and stop me, but I'm used to that. I do my own thing and race as best as I can.

"It has just been an amazing experience these last 10 days, I've never experienced anything like it in my life.

"It just shows the British public are so supportive, they love sport, they love seeing Britain doing well, you can see how proud they are to put these Games on."

His victory came as Shelly Woods won silver in the women's marathon following three track defeats.

Her second-place finish behind American Shirley Reilly means Britain amassed a total of 120 medals – 17 more than predicted – and finished third behind China and Russia.

Woods, competing in the women's versions of Weir's events, had failed to get among the medals in this year's Games before yesterday's race.

The 26-year-old slipped 11 seconds off the pace at the 10km mark but closed back in on the leaders and was only denied gold by a second as she was narrowly beaten by Reilly.

She said: "It has been such a tough week and I've been wanting a medal so badly.

"I've always known that physically my speed is there, it just wasn't happening on the track.

"This means the world to me. I was hoping I could do it on the track, but a silver in the marathon is amazing."

Weir and Woods were the first-placed man and woman in the London Marathon in April.