Etenesh Diro was hoping for a Women's Steeplechase gold, she was expected to finish on the podium. Her footwear had other ideas.
The Ethiopian was predicted to breeze through her heat in Rio, this morning, but she lost her runner after being into a tangle with her fellow runners.
https://twitter.com/FloTrack/status/764458210640093184
The incident happened with two laps remaining and, spotting Diro continuing with one runner, drew roars of encouragement from the crowd.
https://twitter.com/owen_g/status/764458217346895872
She so, so nearly caught the frontrunners but simply had too much ground to make up. She eventually finished 7th, four agonising seconds off a qualifying position, and time.
https://twitter.com/owen_g/status/764458834526109696
All the while, Team Ireland's Sara Louise Treacy was giving it her all but it was only good enough for 12th place. She had a spill in the same incident that took Diro's shoe out. Her time of 9:49.24 was some 12 seconds behind Diro and 16 off a top four finish.
There was a fantastic reprieve for the Meath athlete as some disqualifications saw her make the final cut.
https://twitter.com/DavidGillick/status/764468745985228801
In even better news - DIRO IS ALSO IN THE FINAL! The same appeal turned out in favour of the Ethiopian.
Spare a thought, though, for Team GB's Lennie Waite. She finished 17th after getting around, up and down in a time of 10:14.18. That was 37 seconds behind the brave Diro.
Michelle Finn [9:49.45] was 11th in her heat while Kerry O'Flaherty only finished 14th in her heat despite running it in a season's best 9:45.35.
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