Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Team GB runner Rose Harvey fought through a fractured femur to finish the Olympic marathon
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic saw people across the globe pick up new hobbies and skills.
That included Rose Harvey.
Harvey, whose job as a corporate lawyer in the music industry in England was eliminated during the pandemic, leaned into running. While she often ran to and from the office while practicing law, she never quite had the time to dive into the sport fully. But with the lockdowns in effect — and running listed as one of the permitted outdoor activities — she had the opportunity to dive fully in.
“It just kind of snowballed from there, I absolutely loved it,” she said earlier this summer.
She was spotted running one day in 2020 by coach Phil Kissi in Battersea Park and that chance encounter changed her life. Harvey ran the Cheshire Marathon in April of 2021 and finished in 2:30:58, wiping 25 minutes off her personal best. Less than six months later she ran in the elite field of the London Marathon and finished 15th among women and 36th overall, with another personal best of 2:29:45.
She turned professional in 2022 and when she ran the London Marathon that year, she was the fastest British female runner, finishing with a time of 2:27:59.
Her performance at the Chicago Marathon last year sealed her spot on Team GB for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Harvey ran 2:23.21 in Chicago, which stands as the fifth fastest-ever marathon time for a British woman.
Sadly, her marathon performance in Paris was well off that pace. Harvey crossed the finish line with a time of 2:51:03, a step back from her typical performances and over 28 minutes behind gold medalist Sifan Hassan. However, that needs a bit of context.
Because she finished with a BROKEN LEG.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday Harvey outlined that in the weeks leading up to the Olympics, she had developed some tightness in her hip. Thanks to her training staff she and Team GB believed she was ready. “My incredible team and I put in so much work to make the start line fit and healthy and we were all optimistic that with a bit of race day adrenaline, I would be able to run the race I knew I had in me.”
However, in the early going of the marathon she knew something was wrong. “I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen. The next 24 miles were a painful battle.
“It turns out I had stress fractured my femur.”
Despite the fracture, Harvey did not pull out of the race.
“In any other race, I would have stopped and there were so many moments when I thought I couldn’t take another step. The downhills were hell.
“But despite that most of my race goals having slipped away, there was still a tiny part of my Olympic dream that I could hang onto – and that was finishing the Olympic marathon.
“I couldn’t give up.
“I kept telling myself to smile, soak up the energy of the incredible crowds and just put one foot in front of the other.”
She may have finished over 28 minutes behind the winner, but to run the last 24 miles of the Olympic marathon with a stress fracture in her femur?
That sounds medal-worthy to me.
