Molly Seidel wanted to win Olympic gold in the marathon for women on Saturday, but she is also a pessimist. She looked through the remaining names on the field. She saw personal bests, the most majority of which were 5 minutes quicker than her own.
She said that her goal was to finish in the top 10.
As a result, even Seidel was surprised as she crossed the finish line. She clapped her hands and let forth a happy scream. On a fine morning in Sapporo, Japan, Molly won the Olympic bronze medal with a time of 2:27:46.
Seidel was running his third marathon.
She mentioned that she was simply trying to stick her nose where it wasn’t meant to be and go after it. Seidel said that the Olympics come once every four years so one has to take chances. Seidel, who resides in Boston and Flagstaff, Arizona, is just the third 3rd US woman to have won a medal in the female’s marathon. Joan Benoit won the gold in the event in 1984 in Los Angeles, while Deena Kastor earned bronze in 2004 in Athens.
Kenyans Peres Jepchirchir finished first and Brigid Kosgei secured second place in Saturday’s tournament.
Seidel’s performance was reminiscent of her equally spectacular performance in America. The Olympic trials were conducted in Atlanta eighteen months ago.
Few expected her to make Team USA, much alone contend for a medal. Despite winning four NCAA cross country and track championships at Notre Dame, the marathon is still a somewhat unfamiliar distance for her.
Kara Goucher, NBA Analyst, remarked that she’s running on experience which she quite frankly lacks.
Seidel said that she and Kipyego heard about the change while eating dinner on Friday. She said her jaw dropped a little. While Seidel was aware that the earlier start would result in cooler conditions, it also led her to alter her racing plan at the last minute. She claimed to have skipped dinner and gone straight to bed.
