Seidel fell slightly behind Jepchirchir and Kosgei in the last two miles, but by that point, she had all but secured bronze. 'But I figured if I hung with them long enough and just kind of was brave, something good would come from it.' 'They're the best in the world,' Seidel said. She said her goal was to be the person who would cause the leaders to look around late in the race, see her and think 'who the hell is this girl?'

In Saturday's race, Seidel kept with the lead pack for almost the entirety of the race, hanging on as others began to fall behind. 2019, then proceeded to finish second at trials in what was her marathon debut. Olympic trials in Atlanta with a half-marathon time from Dec. 'Everything about getting to the start line of this race has been crazy,' Seidel said, 'and that was just another little bit of crazy thrown in there.'Ī Wisconsin native, Seidel grew up running 5k and 10k races before deciding to give the marathon a try. She said she essentially left dinner and went straight to bed. While she knew the earlier start would allow for cooler weather, it also forced Seidel to alter her race plan at the 11th hour. 'I think my jaw dropped a little bit,' she said. Seidel said she was eating dinner with Kipyego on Friday when they received word about the change. Organizers also announced late Friday that the start time would be moved up an hour, from 7 a.m. The Olympic marathon was held in Sapporo – about 500 miles north of Tokyo – due to concerns about extreme heat. trials, dropped out about halfway through the race, with her team citing an injury in a post on social media.

TEXT WITH US AT TOKYO OLYMPICS: Subscribe to texts, where we’ll be your official guide to the Gamesįellow American Sally Kipyego finished 17th on Saturday. INSIDE SCOOP IN TOKYO: Subscribe to our Olympic newsletter now

LIVE UPDATES: Follow the action from Day 15 of the Tokyo Olympics American Molly Seidel reacts after winning the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.

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