It’s been quite the ten days of athletics, hasn’t it? From Cole Hocker’s surprising victory in the men’s 1500m final and Keely Hodgkinson’s 800m gold, to that chaotic 5000m men’s semi-final and Team GB’s silver and bronze relay medals, this year’s track and field has delivered in spades. And in the women’s marathon on Sunday, an epic last-minute kick saw Sifan Hassan take home gold alongside her bronze medals in the 5000m and 10000m.
It was a moment I’m fortunate to have witnessed in person, as the Parisian sun blazed down on the grandstands lining the 100m blue stretch of carpet in front of the Hôtel des Invalides. And yet, Hassan’s outstanding treble aside, it's what unfolded on that carpet a full hour and a half later that I think truly embodies the spirit of the Olympic Games; the moment that Bhutan runner Kinzang Lhamo was met with a standing ovation, as she crossed the finish line in a time of 3 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
Lhamo, who was the only woman on her country’s three-person Olympic team, had walked the final two kilometres of the race, with dozens of spectators joining her in her quest to reach the finish line. The 80th and final finisher, she looked visibly exhausted as she mustered a sprint down the home stretch — and yet we stamped our feet and cheered as loud as we could muster.
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‘It is as if she is about to be crowned champion,’ said one BBC commentator on Lhamo’s raucous reception.
The moment is perhaps even more significant given the switch between the men’s and women’s races this year. Traditionally, the men’s marathon has been the final track and field event of the Olympic Games. This year the order was reversed, in a nod to the 40th anniversary of the first women’s Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles. Before then, the distance was believed to be ‘too taxing’ for women.
Rather ironically, then, just hours before I’d been in the exact same position as Lhamo, running the Marathon Pour Tous: a special one-off event organised by Paris 2024 that saw 20,024 runners follow in the footsteps of their Olympic heroes on the same course as the athletes were competing. As an 11-time marathon runner, take it from me — that route was tough, totalling 1,430 feet (436m) of elevation gain and a challenging 1,437 (438m) feet of descent. To put that into perspective, the World Marathon Majors that are considered the hilliest — Boston and New York City — each have an elevation gain of a little over 800 (244m) total feet.
The difference between Lhamo and I, though, is that I didn’t have anyone watching me — unless you count a handful of friends and family tracking me from back home. And while I’d travelled to Paris by myself, I had plenty of fellow runners beside me throughout the entire race.
Lhamo ran almost entirely alone. Most of her field, made up of 91 women, had met the Olympic qualifying standard (2:26:50) with a handful of universality places reserved for athletes like Lhamo from underrepresented National Olympic Committees. With a PB of 3:26, she stood on that start line knowing that she would be miles behind everyone else. Do you know how much guts that takes, particularly on a world stage?
Not to mention, she could have DNF'd at any moment, especially in the heat, but she persevered. That sends a powerful message to women everywhere who feel like they don’t have what it takes to participate in sport.
As someone who didn’t start running until their early twenties, the fear of not being good enough was certainly a barrier that prevented me from getting involved in sport from a younger age. And while the Olympics is obviously about shining a spotlight on the world’s most talented, it's also about athletes like Lhamo showing that you don’t necessarily need to be the best at something in order to succeed — or inspire.
In fact, Lhamo wasn’t the only athlete who exhibited the true spirit of the Games in Paris.
In another memorable moment last Friday, 22-year-old Megan Keith concluded the women’s 10,000m final with a solo last lap after everyone else had finished. Keith, who was reportedly suffering an ankle injury, received the biggest reception of the night as she came home in 33:19.92 for 23rd place, before embracing teammate Eilish McColgan in an emotional exchange.
Speaking after the final, Keith said it was the hardest race of her life: 'That was the hardest 25 laps ever. I was happy to make the start line and even happier to make the finish line. Even though I came last, I’m proud to be here as an Olympian.'
If you ask me, both Keith and Lhamo embody everything the Games should be about: unwavering grit, ruthless determination and true sportsmanship. They might not have gone home with a medal, but I'm sure their performances have inspired people everywhere, just as they've inspired me.
