Susana Santos made her Olympic debut with pain and heart, helping to cover the final 12 kilometers of the Paris 2024 marathon, only her third time running the distance.
At 32, Susana Santos finished her first Olympic marathon in 57th place in 2:35.57 hours, more than 13 minutes behind the winner, Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan, with an Olympic record of 2:22.55, over a very difficult course, with a large accumulated difference in level.
“I think it was one of the toughest routes they’ve ever done in a marathon. The drop in level was very big, the descents were also very steep, I was also trying not to tire my muscles too much. However, after 30 kilometers, it was more of a heart run because I was already cramping badly and I really wanted to get to the end,” he admitted.
After the marathon, which passed through some of the most iconic areas of the French capital and ended at the Hôtel des Invalides, Susana Santos admits that she did not work for this result, especially since she was in “the best moment of her form”.
“I didn’t manage to reach my personal best. I know I didn’t manage to break my personal best today either, but I was hoping to get close. But after 30 kilometers I started to suffer a lot and I started to cramp, so I had to manage my efforts to not stop and to reach the end,” he said.
The climb of about 30 kilometers proved decisive in the race for Susana Santos, who had been feeling very well up until that point but then began to “break down” and “feel a lot of muscle pain.”
“This is my third marathon, I have little experience yet, but I ran faster when I did the minimum. This Sunday I also felt great difficulties because of the heat, although everyone was hot, but I was very hot. For me, the climb to 29 kilometers caused a lot of muscle pain, it was the worst moment I have overcome, and it was 12 kilometers of pain,” he said.
After the event that ended the athletics program in Paris 2024, Susana Santos still prefers not to think about the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 and assures that now “the goal is to recover from this and then set goals for next season.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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