Tokyo Olympics: 'Lights out', Zane Robertson explains marathon finish line collapse – Lesotho News

Zane Robertson says he doesn’t remember the last 10km, after he stumbled and collapsed as he crossed the finish line in Sunday’s men’s Olympic marathon.

The 31-year-old Kiwi, who finished a respectable 36th, was one of a group of athletes who needed medical help after completing the exhausted 42.2km race in hot and humid conditions.

A New Zealand athletics spokesperson confirmed on Sunday afternoon that Robertson is fine, and has been “awake and discharged from hospital”.

Robertson clocked 2:17:4sec,8:26 behind Kenyan winner Eliud Kipchoge, before being carried away in a wheelchair. Fellow Kiwi Malcolm Hicks ranked 64th in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds.

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In an Instagram post on Sunday evening, Robertson revealed his struggles in Sapporo.

“I left it all there today, no excuses. I put myself in a shot in the top 10 and maybe a medal up to 30/31 km,” he wrote, with a photo of his “last memory” passing Lilisa Desisa of Ethiopia” before extinguishing The lights are around the 32 kilometer mark.

“Somehow I made it to the finish line running on fumes even though I don’t remember anything or could remember anything. After finishing, I woke up in the medical tent in an ice bath with a thermometer up my ass.”

On a day when the event wiped out a slew of elite runners in challenging conditions, New Zealand record holder Robertson can hold his head high in what was a fantastic day for Kipchoge.

World record holder (2:1:39) Kipchoge became the third man to win a consecutive Olympic marathon, and the first in 41 years, after crossing the line in 2:08:38.

He cut his movement nearly 12 km, breaking away from fellow Kenyans Lawrence Chirono and Amos Kipruto and never looking back.

I think there were about 30 runners, including Robertson, in the group he headed at the 25 kilometer mark.

The difference was as little as him, and always will be a case not if he sets foot, but when.

Kipchoge smashed the pursuers when he ran 14 minutes 28 seconds to split the 30-35 km. By comparison, the previous 5km splits were 15min 7sec 15min 36sec.

Robertson was one of the first to drift off the pack, which had shrunk by more than half in an area of ​​just a few kilometers.

However, unlike the others, the man who had spent years living and training in Kenya, went on and completed the race.

Kipruto was bailed out with 5km to run, and other big names were on the casualty list, starting with Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata, who had a hamstring problem after just 9km.

Ugandan Stephen Kibroch, the 2012 Olympic champion, was never comfortable and was one of six to run the first 15km.

Top-ranked Sesay Lima and Lisa Desisa joined Kitata in failing to finish the race, making it a memorable day for the Ethiopians, while a stunned Danielle do Nascimento (Brazil) exited the race as the heat knocked out another runner.

Ten elite athletes were within the 19 km range. When all was said and done, 30 of the 105 starters never crossed the finish line.

Glimpse

gold: Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 2.08.38

silver: Abdi Nagy (Netherlands) 2.09.58

Bronze: Bachir Abdi (Belgium) 2.10.00