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What happened to Fiona O'Keeffe at the Paris Olympics? All we know about the Stanford Graduate's exit so far
Fiona O'Keeffe dropped out of the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics. The American athlete began the race and ran for about five kilometers before deciding to drop out of the race.
O'Keeffe rose to prominence after winning the marathon at the U.S. Olympic marathon Trials which was the first marathon of her professional career, The Stanford graduate clocked 2:25:10 to win the trials and in the process recorded the fastest marathon run by an American woman.
The American athlete was behind the leading pack in the initial moments of the Paris Olympics 2024 marathon and decided to drop out of the race after crossing the five-kilometer mark. The official results show her as DNF (Did not finish).
There were several concerns about the reason for her dropout and her coach, Alistair Cragg spoke to Jonathan Gault of letsrun.com and revealed that O'Keeffe experienced tightness in her hip flexors a week ago. However, her team are yet to confirm the reason for her decision to drop out of the race.
"Fiona O’Keeffe’s coach Alistair Cragg said they’re still not quite sure what the injury that caused her to DNF today is, but he said she has been experiencing hip flexor tightness. The issue began a week ago."
The women's marathon at the Paris Olympics 2024 witnessed some great performances, with Sifan Hassan winning the gold medal after clocking a new Olympic record of 2:22:55, Tigst Assefa won the silver with a time of 2:22:58 and Helen Obiri took home the bronze medal with a time of 2:23:10.
Fiona O'Keeffe on qualifying for the Paris Olympics
Fiona O'Keeffe qualified for her first Olympic games after an incredible performance at the U.S. Marathon Trials. The American athlete spoke to Olympics.com about getting the opportunity to compete at the highest level.
“It was just overwhelming in the best way. It was an outcome I couldn’t have dreamed of, honestly. So, yeah, it was just like disbelief, joy, and just a lot of gratitude for the moment. I’m just really excited to experience that highest level. And know that it’s truly the best in the world - and see where I can line up in that situation.”
The American athlete envisioned herself to be an inspiration to the younger generation and offered valuable advice.
"You never know what can happen. But also stay patient and have fun with your sport, whatever your sport is. There’s so much time, and when you’re young, it should really be fun. That’s the best way to make it sustainable and give you a shot at long-term success,” she added.
Though O'Keeffe will be concluding her Olympic campaign without a medal, her journey to the pinnacle games from being a Stanford graduate to the fastest marathon runner in the United States stands as an inspiration to a lot of athletes.
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