The British runner Rose Harvey has revealed she completed the Paris Olympics women’s marathon with a broken leg. Harvey finished 78th in Sunday’s race, recording a time of 2hr 51min 3sec.
“This was far from the Olympics I dreamed of, but still an experience of a lifetime,” Harvey wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a picture of her on crutches after arriving back in the UK.
“I was so excited to step on that stage, show that I had what it takes to be part of Team GB and, most importantly, do everyone proud who has helped me get to this point. And just a couple of weeks ago, it was looking so good. Training had been stellar. Then I developed a bit of tightness in my hip.
“My incredible team and I put in so much work to make the start line fit and healthy, and we were all optimistic that with a bit of race day adrenaline I would be able to run the race I knew I had in me.
“A couple of miles in, I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen. The next 24 miles were a painful battle. It turns out I had stress fractured my femur.”
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.
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“In any other race, I would have stopped and there were so many moments when I thought I couldn’t take another step,” said the 31-year-old, who is getting married in three weeks’ time. “The downhills were hell. But despite that most of my race goals having slipped away, there was still a tiny part of my Olympic dream that I could hang on to – and that was finishing the Olympic marathon.
“I couldn’t give up. I kept telling myself to smile, soak up the energy of the incredible crowds and just put one foot in front of the other.
“It was heartbreaking. But being part of the Olympics is something I’ll never forget and being able to share the race with so many of my amazing friends and family meant the world to me.”
