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Fungi Muderere, [email protected]
AFTER an unsuccessful race at the Paris Olympics yesterday, marathoner Rutendo Nyahora could only but blame herself — saying it was not her day.

Nyahora, among other plethora of athletes, could not finish the race, a day after the country’s long-distance running king Isaac Mpofu finally took his Olympic Games bow and was satisfied with his top-20 finish in the marathon race.

A dejected Nyahora said from France: “Nothing happened, it was not my day today and I don’t want to lie about it. I tried but I failed. It was hard for me to accept it because there was a time I stopped and ran again because I wanted to finish no matter I was going to be number last. I wanted to finish the race but I don’t know what happened.”

The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan won gold in the women’s marathon in a sprint finish to claim her third medal of the Paris Olympics.

The 31-year-old accelerated in the final 200 metres to cross the line in an Olympic record two hours 22 minutes 55 seconds, three seconds ahead of Ethiopian Tigst Assefa.

Hassan’s victory came only two days after she won bronze in the 10 000m and six days after 5 000m bronze.

“I have no words. Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5 000m and 10 000m. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today,” Hassan was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

“The moment I started to feel good was at 20km, I felt so good. Then I knew I wanted gold,” she added.

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri finished third, 12 seconds behind Assefa.

Britain’s Clara Evans was 46th in 2:33:01 and Rose Harvey 78th in 2:51:03, while Calli Hauger-Thackery did not finish.

With temperatures touching 24C despite an 08:00 race start, several athletes used ice packs during the race and others carried bottles of water for long periods.

Hassan won 5 000m and 10 000m gold and 1 500m bronze at Tokyo 2020.

On Saturday, Mpofu put on a spirited performance that saw him cross the finish line in 19th place after clocking 2 hours 10 minutes 9 seconds.

Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola came first in 2 hours 6 minutes 26 seconds, setting an Olympic record. Bashir Abdi of Belgium was second in 2 hours 6 minutes 47 seconds and Kenya’s Benson Kipruto took the bronze medal in a time of 2 hours 7 minutes.

Mpofu admitted the course was a bit challenging, with the hot weather conditions making the situation worse. He was nonetheless pleased with the outcome.

“The race was good, everything was okay. But the terrain was a little bit challenging. But I coped well. The time that I got, 2:10, that was our target, 2:10 and below. So, I managed to run 2:10. At least I tried my best. Honestly, the terrain was tough and the weather conditions were hotter. I am happy, although I wanted a top 10 finish. That’s the outcome of the day and I am still happy. I just thank God and we shall prepare for the next coming Games.”

The course was a full 42,2km stretch and not a looped one, with some hilly parts along the route.

Mpofu gave a good account of himself, ensuring he was within the top-20 racers for much of the marathon.

He occupied position 23 at the halfway mark, eased into the leading 20 runners in the last 7km and finally settled for a 19th place when he crossed the finish line.

The Zimbabwe marathon record holder said it had not been an easy journey for him as he worked to qualify and prepare for the Games. — @FungaiMuderere