Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri said her bronze medal at the Paris Olympic felt like a gold after enduring tough times before and during Sunday's race.
Obiri hung on for third place despite two falls in the last race of the championship, finishing behind the winner, Netherlands' Sifan Hassan and Ethiopian Tigst Assefa.
Hassan won the race in an Olympic record of 2:22:55 to complete a Paris treble after bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000 m races.
Ethiopian Assefa bagged silver in 2:22:58 while Obiri was rewarded with a personal best of 2:23:10.
The second Kenyan, Sharon Lokedi, also had a PB of 2:23:14 while the defending champion from Tokyo 2020, Peres Jepchichir, slipped to 15th in 2:26:51. "This is amazing," said Obiri.
"I had a bad injury at the Boston Marathon but I kept on trusting the doctors. I had less than six weeks of long training (sessions). I told myself 'I am the best' and so I gave my best. This bronze feels like a gold to me."
" The course was good but challenging. I fell twice at the water stations," she said. Obiri felt like giving up with four kilometres to go but... "I told myself 'No, let me try, I am the best'. I decided to push...even if I miss the gold, I will get a medal. "
She had prepared for the race but was shocked to find how tough some sections of the course were.
"At 27km, it was so tough for me. My legs were not moving. But I told myself, "After this, we have a downhill."
Obiri will take time to recover before refocusing on big-city marathons. She revealed how relocating to the United States proved an added advantage.
"It helped me know what I am supposed to do in terms of training, diet, gym and physiotherapy," she said.
She has settled into a new house with her family, revealing her daughter is set to start classes on Monday.
Lokedi, who placed fourth congratulated Obiri for delivering a medal, revealing how she was silently cheering her on in the last 200m.
"I am proud of her performance. I hoped to be in the top three but I knew it was going to be tough in the last few kilometres," she said.
"I knew I didn't have a kick and wanted to work hard to stay in the top pack. I did but couldn't get a medal. I am proud of Obiri and Peres. We all worked together. We are happy and hope Kenyans are happy (too). I kept thinking 'I hope she goes'. I was also worried about the people coming from behind. I just wanted that medal to go home," she said.
"I felt bad when she fell, twice. It was a hard fall. The water stations were small and very risky. I hope she is fine."
