Sinead Diver breaks silence on Olympics fallout amid storm around Aussie marathon runner
Diver's marathon heartbreak came after drama around Australia's team selection.
Sinead Diver has set the record straight about her sad injury withdrawal from the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics amid suggestions she could have given up her place to reserve runner Lisa Weightman. The 47-year-old Diver admits she was left "absolutely devastated" at not being able to finish the marathon in Paris, having run just over one kilometre before suffering severe cramps. It left Jess Stenson (13th place) and Genevieve Gregson (24th) as the only two Aussie women to finish the race.
The heartbreaking scenes sparked numerous questions around the fitness of Diver in the lead-up to the race, amid reports she was suffering from a heel injury known as plantar fasciitis. Nine commentators Gerard Whateley and Aussie Olympic great Tamsyn Manou both discussed whether Weightman should have been over in Paris despite failing in her appeal to be selected in the Australian team. Weightman posted the third-fastest time of the Aussie women in qualifying but was controversially overlooked as 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Stenson got the nod instead.
Whateley was particularly strong in his assertion that Athletics Australia (AA) had plenty of questions to answer after Diver's withdrawal, amid suggestions Weightman should have travelled to Paris as back-up, in the event any of the runners were not fit to compete. According to Wide World of Sports, Weightman's team even reached out to AA on July 23 to check on the fitness of Diver.
Sinead Diver says she was fit to race amid online backlash
But Diver has now broken her silence after revealing the heel issue she was experiencing was "manageable" and not the reason she had to pull out of the marathon so early in the race. The 47-year-old dispelled any notions that she was not fit enough to compete in Paris after revealing that she'd copped a wave of backlash online.
"I'm absolutely devastated to have had to DNF (did not finish) at my second Olympic Games," Diver posted on social media. "I was dealing with a plantar issue in the lead-in to this race. It was manageable and I was training, fit and ready to race. That had nothing to do with why I pulled out.
"In the warm-up, my quads started to spasm without any warning. I hoped it would resolve as I started running but it didn't and they seized up within the first km to the point that I couldn't bend my knees. I don't fully understand what's caused this." Diver admitted the lead-up to the race had been "one of the most challenging times of my life" and thinks the stress contributed to her situation.
Heartbreaking for Sinéad Diver to have to pull out of the marathon, but receiving so much abuse is disgusting.
Following the online abuse that Ollie Hoare suffered too, it’s just not on.
People need to be better.@abcsport #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/q6UmShN1we— Simon Smale (@simon_smale) August 12, 2024
Sinead Diver says stress contributed to race-ending cramps
"The vitriol online has had a significant impact on my mental health and I have no doubt that has played a part in my body breaking down in this way," Diver added. "The culmination of stress over the last few weeks has finally taken its toll." Diver's coach, Nic Bideau, also insisted the runner was fit enough to compete in the race and hit out at the likes of Manou and Whateley for suggesting Weightman could have run instead.
"And what would any of them know about it?" Bideau told Wide World of Sports about the Nine commentators. "The problem that caused Sinead to stop arose during her warm-up. Barring that she was ready to run a marathon. That is all I have to say." Diver added: "This is what happened. If you choose not to believe it, then so be it".
Diver said despite the backlash she'd received about her withdrawal from the marathon, the 47-year-old was also grateful for the overwhelming support she'd also received. "Thank you to everyone else who has shown kindness and empathy and sent messages of support to acknowledge that we are all human and sometimes things happen that are out of our control, no matter how hard we try," Diver added.
The drama came after Ausie men's marathon runner Brett Robinson was forced to withdraw from the Paris Games two weeks before the race and gave up his place to Andy Buchanan. Robinson called up his compatriot to inform him of the news after Buchanan had also posted a fast enough time to qualify for the men's marathon.
