“The Olympic energy was kind of what kept me going to that finish line,” she said. “Any other race I would have stopped, because I wasn’t able to run like I normally can… and the pain was really bad, but I just had to get to that finish line, I had to do the Olympic marathon.”
Harvey went professional in 2022 and she was the fastest British woman at the London Marathon that year. Her running time of 2:23.21 in Chicago last year was the fifth fastest-ever marathon time for a British woman.
Hassan, meanwhile, produced one of the most remarkable athletics performances in Olympic history by becoming the first woman – and first person since Emil Zatopek in 1952 – to win medals in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon.
She also followed up her two track bronzes with a golden flourish, sprinting to victory in the women’s marathon ahead of the Ethiopian world record-holder Tigst Assefa in a dramatic finish.
Hassan had only completed the 10,000m on Friday night but, after less than 36 hours to recover, she was back out in the streets of Paris on Sunday morning and setting an Olympic record despite an unusually hilly course.