Sinead Diver speaks about her Olympic heartbreak in Paris 2024 after she was forced to pull out of the marathon 1.2km into the race. In this candid conversation with Elise Beacom, Sinead shares her experience of the stressful Australian marathon team selection ahead of the Games and how that turmoil impacted her.

Sinead takes us through the days before the Olympic marathon, when she was managing plantar fasciitis, all the way up to marathon day itself, and the moment she knew something else was majorly wrong. We talk about the subsequent negative commentary and unfair assumptions made in the media and online, and Sinead’s long process of healing ever since.

We also discuss Sinead’s current comeback after many injury setbacks over the past year, and cover some incredible highs of her career, including her Australian record-breaking performance at Valencia Marathon in 2022 and her 10th place in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon.

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Sinead Diver is an Irish-born Australian marathoner and national record holder in the marathon (2:21:34). After taking up running in her 30s, Sinead quickly ascended as one of Australia’s best distance runners. She made her Olympic marathon debut in Tokyo in 2021, finishing 10th, which was Australia’s best Olympic marathon result in over three decades.

Sinead has also represented Australia at the World Athletics Championships, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and has finished top eight in three Abbott World Marathon Majors (London, 2019 and 2020, and New York, 2019). As a 48-year-old mum of two and a part-time IT professional, Sinead continues to redefine what’s possible in distance running.

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom