"Ten days shy of her 41st birthday, the mother-of-three from Wicklow turned in a remarkable run that typified the class, courage and commitment that has defined her career, finishing ninth in the World Championships marathon in 2:30:16 - her best ever finish at global level across any surface."
""Usually I'm like, 'I have to come back again to redeem myself,' whereas this time, I don't really feel like that," said McCormack, who only realised she finished ninth when informed by RTÉ's David Gillick. "Pleasantly surprised," she added. "Obviously now I'm thinking, 'Ugh, could I have finished a few places higher?' But I picked off as many people as I could. Everybody I could see in front of me, I think I caught so there wasn't a whole lot more I could do.""
"With temperatures close to 30 degrees and humidity at 72 per cent, McCormack knew this would turn into a war of attrition, and so it proved. She made a sensible, conservative start, passing 10km in a steady 35:21 and in 33rd place. By halfway, reached in 1:15:17, she had moved up to 26th, while at 30km she was 18th."
McCormack, ten days shy of her 41st birthday and a mother of three from Wicklow, ran to ninth place in the World Championships marathon in 2:30:16, her best global finish. The performance came 18 years after a World Championships debut in Osaka. She began conservatively in hot, humid conditions, passing 10km in 35:21 in 33rd place, reaching halfway in 1:15:17 in 26th and 30km in 18th. She surged through the latter half of the race to move into the top ten, overtaking multiple competitors. Other Irish athletes also advanced in their events at the same meet.
Read at Irish Independent
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