The US Olympic marathon trials qualifier had several favorites for the women’s race. But, the big favorites of the event and their fans got blindsided when Fiona O’Keeffe, a marathon debutant, blazed past everyone, clocking 2 hours, 22 minutes, 10 seconds, an Olympic Trials record. While her opponents didn’t see the wild card coming, the debutant was also caught off-guard with a painful experience.

O’Keeffe’s bib was stained red when she crossed the finishing line. Confirming the fans’ horrors, the 25-year-old admitted to bleeding during the race due to a rookie mistake.

What turned O’Keeffe’s chest into a bloody mess

Fiona O’Keeffe added a new post via her Instagram account carrying several images of the marathon winner. Explaining the blood in her chest area, she said, “To those asking, yes, the red stuff on my bib was blood—made the rookie move of stashing a gel in my sports bra and proceeding to drench myself with water on the course, resulting in a little chafing situation.”

She also posted a story about the bleeding, explaining her marathon hack fail. This explains that her trick to keep herself cool didn’t just make her carry extra weight and sweat, it also resulted in blood loss. Despite this, O’Keeffe still managed to defeat favorites Emily Sisson, Sara Hall, Betsy Saina, and more. 

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However, O’Keeffe believes that she has a long way to go. The marathon runner said that everyone was telling her that she was going to Paris. But, she knows that the competition at the Olympic trials will be even more intense. This, however, doesn’t mean she is any lesser than the competition. In fact, she managed to create several records in just her first shot at a marathon.

Owning the marathon game despite debut run

Fiona O’Keeffe switched to conqueror mode during the 19th mile and increased her pace to finish the race in 2:22:10. This shattered two existing Olympic records and created a new one in just one stroke. O’Keeffe is now the only debutant to win the Olympic marathon trials qualifier and has also become the youngest one to bag first place.

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On top of it, the 25-year-old even clocked the fastest-ever Olympic time in the event to get a step closer to Paris. While these are very significant milestones, her Instagram post also started a conversation about women getting better marathon gear. One with pockets for cooling gels so women don’t cut themselves like that. Will this fan support and her athletic prowess take her to Paris and win her an Olympic gold in another 171 days?

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