For most people the 2012 London Olympics remains a fond memory of when Britain, in the immortal words of Sebastian Coe, ‘gone done it right’.
That was the phrase which echoed throughout the Olympic Stadium and beyond on the night of the unforgettable opening ceremony orchestrated by Danny Boyle, when the whole world was offered a Pisgah sight of Britain as it once was and has barely ceased to be, from green and pleasant fields to the illustrious National Health Service, from industrialisation in a minute to Sir Paul McCartney’s last croak.
And yet however great the 2012 London Olympics were – from Seb Coe’s ineffable word to Danny Boyle’s insurmountable spectacle to the athletic feats of the likes of Mo Farah and Jess Ennis and some of the others – for most people they remain, after all, only a memory.
Not, however, for one Danish steeplechaser, a woman named Inga Runa-Lotte who only yesterday crossed the finishing line of her event. Runa-Lotte started the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase final alongside fifteen other competitors more than four years ago, on 6 August 2012. She had hoped to bring some prestige to the never particularly illustrious area of Danish steeplechasing.
But the last four years have been full of one problem after another for Runa-Lotte, whose personal best was slow to begin with, yet in the meantime has suffered falls, broken bones, bottled water mishaps, and numerous instances of cramp and misdirection. The capacity crowds who whooped and hollered inside the Olympic Stadium have long since departed. Runa-Lotte has often been forced to continue her lonely race around the outer edge of the track, making way for other meets, other sports, and the occasional concert.
And yet imagine her surprise yesterday when she finally finished the race, and faced not a solitary trek towards a warm shower and a cup of cocoa, but instead a moist handshake and a bronze medal bearing her name. The patient IAAF official explained that in the intervening four years, all but two of the other competitors have been disqualified after falling foul of doping violations.
A victory surely then for clean persistence in the face of the dirty wrongdoings carried out by those wishing to make an easy name and a quick buck, but after four long years, Inga Runa-Lotte certainly now needs that shower.
