British long-distance runner Rose Harvey finished the marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a fractured femur, she announced on her social media account. She finished 78th in Sunday’s race, recording a time of 2:51.03 hours.
“It was far from the Olympics I dreamed of, but it’s the experience of a lifetime”, revealing she finished the run with a broken leg. “A couple of weeks ago everything looked fine and then I started to feel a little tightness in my hip. My amazing team and I worked very hard to be fit and healthy at the start of the marathon. We were convinced that with a little adrenaline on the day at the race I’ll be able to do the run I’ve been preparing for. After a few kilometers I realized that wasn’t going to happen”, explains Rose Harvey.
Sifan Hassan won the marathon gold medal by three seconds from rival Tigst Assefa after a late clash between the pair. Further back, Harvey was going through a physical battle of her own.
“In any other race, I would have given up. The last 24 kilometers was a painful battle. The descents were hellish. But even though most of my goals were blown away, my Olympic dream was to finish the marathon. There was no way I was going to give up. I kept telling myself that I had to to smile, to be energized by the amazing fans and to put my feet in front of each other. It broke my heart. But I will never forget my participation in the Olympics”, said also the British athlete. “There were many moments where I thought I wouldn’t be able to take the next step”, concludes Rose Harvey.
