Elite women's post-race quotes

“I’m really happy to win and break the world record today; I've worked really hard for this.”  
 
When asked about her tactics for the day: 

“The conditions today were really good as there was no wind. The pacemakers really pushed the pace early on, which really suited me, so I was really pleased with them.” 
 
On her disappointment at the Paris Olympics:  
 
“I was pleased with my silver medal, but today means so much to me, to be here in London. It means so much to win the race and break the [women-only] world record.” 

“The last few kilometres were very tough in the heat. The plan was to make the first lap the quickest, and go from there.  

“I’m very happy to finish on the podium. It’s an honour to do well in the London Marathon.” 

“[I had a] very strange feeling out on the course. I'm in very good shape, but I found it really hard to breathe.  

“I’m really grateful for this race. When I started, in the first 5K, I thought ‘Oh my God, I’m going to drop’ and I really didn’t want to drop back, so I was really praying that didn’t happen. 

“Every time I thought I could close the gap, my breathing got harder, and the gap just got bigger. They worked really hard to get rid of me.”  

“After the Olympics, I took three months off and I now feel I need more miles. My training has been good, but for me it was hard to go any more intense today. 

“I have respect for the marathon, so every step I was really pushing myself hard, but I couldn’t do more than that, so I am really happy with third. I need some rest; my body needs recovery.

On her plans for the rest of 2024:

“It’s good to push myself hard [in a marathon], but I’m going to go back to the track after this. I want to race 1500m so I can see my speed. I really want to see where I am.” 

“The pace was really fast out there today, I'm not surprised to here that the WR was broken. There was a big gap today between us and the leading elites. I didn't feel it today, I got halfway and then I panicked a bit, so I came off my pace and then found myself running on my own. I am proud of myself though to mentally keep going and I'll be heading for another major at the end of this year.”

On how to inspire young runners:

“I did the Mini London Marathon years ago and loved it, but I didn't win. But as long as you're enjoying your running, keeping going and learning from your races, you can push on.”