There has been quite a furor over the early departure of Fiona O’Keefe, US, who won the U.S. Olympic Trials on February 3, 2024. Fiona O’Keefe was obviously in pain from the start of her marathon sojourn. There had been rumors of a US marathoner being injured as Jess McClain, 4th in the 10,000m and marathon, was called about to visit Paris.
Fiona O’Keefe’s premature withdrawal before the 5k mark is not unprecedented. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Deena Kastor, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, was forced to drop out due to a late injury. Similarly, Magda Lewy did not finish in Beijing, with only Blake Russel managing to complete the race (finishing 23rd). The trend continued in the 2012 London Olympics, where Shalane Flanagan finished 9th, Kara Goucher 10th, and Des Linden dropped out. In Rio 2016, Shalane Flanagan finished 6th, Des Linden 7th, and Amy Cragg 9th. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics saw Molly Seidel clinching the Olympic bronze medal, Sally Kipyego finishing 17th, and Aliphine Tuliamuk not finishing.
This is Fiona’s interview with her management team, KIMBIA. We thank Fiona O’Keefe and KIMBIA for providing the context on her DNF and wish her a speedy recovery.
KIMBIA, #1, How did the lead-in to Paris go for you?
Fiona O’Keefe: For the last five weeks or so leading into it, we got in a really solid training block at Mammoth Lakes. I was logging good marathon mileage, getting in good long runs, and getting ready for the hills. I was feeling good about the training and where I was at. Things weren’t perfect, but they never were, and it was a good body of work that I was happy with.
KIMBIA, #2, When did the issue arise?
Fiona O’Keefe: I did my last real track workout on Friday (August 2), and that was a good workout. I felt strong, with no issues, and then on Saturday, on my run, I started tightening my left hip. I didn’t overthink it, but the following Sunday, it was worse during the run. I was supposed to run 90 minutes, but I ran 80. I thought, OK, we’re just being smart. But then walking around the rest of the day didn’t feel very good, so that’s when it started. We decided to come back to Paris. We were up in Strasbourg. We returned to see the doctors and physio and tried to prepare for the race.
KIMBIA, #3, What did they tell you?
Fiona O’Keefe: That’s the thing that’s a little confusing. It feels like nobody’s been able to pinpoint it so far. I’ve seen several different people, and the Physios seem to mainly think…
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