The Esplanade of the National Palace of the Invalides, one of the most majestic and imposing historical buildings in Paris, gave a special setting to the last presentation of the Argentine delegation at the 2024 Olympic Games. Here, Florence Borelli y Daiana Ocampo they had the pleasure of complete the women’s marathonafter traveling the 42,195 kilometers that took them from the city’s City Hall to Versailles and back to the capital to finally cross the finish line. They arrived sweaty and tired, on a very hot morning with clear skies, but happy.
The woman from Mar del Plata did it in 21st place with a time of 2h29m29whole, with arms raised and a huge smile. The woman from Pilar, about three minutes later, in 41st place, with a mark of 2h32m02 and some discomfort in his legs as a result of the enormous effort, and he let out a few tears. They met meters from the finish line and embraced each other in a tight hug. And they celebrated together their very good performances in the debut of both in the most important event in world sport..
“I tried to give everything I could, I am immensely happy and super excited. It was my first Olympic Games, I knew it was going to be hard because the world elite is here. Being among the top 20 was my goal, so I was happy,” said Borelli. , which he got the best time in the history of an Argentine athlete in the marathonahead of Griselda González, even though she finished in 19th place in Atlanta 1996.
And he added: “It was a very emotional race. I had competed in some world championships but these were my first Games and it was super emotional. I arrived very well, my family and my son were waiting for me here. Immensely happy.”
Ocampo commented: “I was constantly thinking that it was the Olympic marathon. The truth is it was very difficult not to realize because there were so many people and so many people shouting Argentina and my name. And I enjoyed it. I felt competitive, trying to climb positions and arriving with a very good mark for what the circuit was.”
And he added: “The most important thing was to reach kilometer 30 with a good feeling, with a little energy so that in the last 12 kilometers people could start passing by. It was what we had planned with my coach and in the end the strategy worked. I felt very good, incredible, and I passed a lot of runners, which left me in the middle of the pack and down. That is due to the progression of training and the correct path we are taking in planning.”
In Paris, There were two Argentines running the Olympic marathon for the second time in the history of the Games. In Rio 2016 there had been three, From Marita Perawhich he abandoned before the end, Rosa Godoywith a 110th place, and Viviana Chavezwith a 125th place.
The performances of Borelli and Ocampo had a special taste. Not only because they managed to finish from the middle of the table up (there were 91 athletes, of which 80 completed the test). But also because they are both united by the bond of being mothers and their children were here, encouraging them from the side of the route..
Florence Borelli. Photo: EFE/Juanjo Martín“Happy that Milo (9 years old) has been supporting me. I was at kilometer 38, so super exciting. “She gave me more strength,” said Florencia. “She’s huge, she’s almost reaching me and wearing my sneakers (laughs). Having him here is super emotional. “Motherhood puts us in another place in terms of maturity, it made me mature a lot.”
“I was always thinking about Amparo (7 years old). It was very exciting. With Florencia, we are two moms who fight for what we want. We are full-time mothers, we train as professionally as possible, every day we seek to improve in every possible way and that is great thanks to the support we have and family support,” commented Daiana.
The two agreed that the route designed by the organizing committee, which took them through emblematic points of Paris such as the Opera, Place Vendôme, the Tuileries Garden, the Louvre Pyramids, La Concorde, the Grand Palais, the Gardens of the Trocadero, the Palace of Versailles and the Eiffel Tower, was “extremely hard”. What did not prevent, like, the Dutch Sifan Hassanwho had just won bronze in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, took the gold with 2h22m55 and an Olympic record included, in a dramatic finish.
Daiana Ocampo. Photo: EFE/ Juanjo Martín“She is from another planet, she is an extraterrestrial. It is incredible to see her run and challenge the limits of races, tracks and marathons,” Ocampo acknowledged.
And he commented: “Very hot and a circuit with almost 400 meters of ascent. The section from kilometer 16 to 30 was 15 climbing, the most difficult. I thought that in Cachi I had gone through this, because there are many slopes there and I was trying to transpolate to that moment of training, doing a kind of mantra. But the work was done and I am here enjoying the moment after so many years of trying to qualify for the Games.”
“Many ups and downs. I knew there were hills, but I didn’t think there were so many and constantly. You had to be careful going down because your legs cramped when doing it very fast. It was a fairly technical test, with a lot of heat,” said Borelli. . “When I saw the route I was quite doubtful if I was going to be able to achieve the goal, because I didn’t know how the high temperatures and the hills were going to affect me. But we had a great race and I am immensely happy.”
Two different paths towards Paris 2024
Borelli’s Olympic dream in the marathon began after Tokyo 2020. When he could not qualify for those Games in the 5,000 meters, he decided it was time to change the track for the road and set himself the goal of running the 42.195 kilometers at the Paris event. . His progress in this distance was meteoric, so much so that in February he secured the Olympic quota by clocking 2h24m18 in Seville, a new Argentine and South American record.
“The marathon has always opened doors for me, from the beginning. Since I turned to this event, after Tokyo, they have all been good performances. The truth is, I have never had a bad performance in the marathon. And here I was able to do another great race. My idea is to always continue improving. There is still a long way to go, but I am super proud of what we have been achieving,” reflected the Mar del Plata native.
Ocampo had his debut in the toughest competition in athletics in Rotterdam in 2019. He had been excited about qualifying for the Olympic event in the Japanese capital, but he did not reach the minimum mark. Paris, then, tasted like revenge.
“Frustrations are always an extra push. Tokyo was. It pushed me to go look for what I felt was for me. Sometimes we have some low mood that makes one not feel good or makes one’s vision go away a little. north. But that’s what the family, the coach, the psychologist and the friends are there for, who push us to try again. Having achieved it shows me time and again that we have to try as many times as necessary,” said the Pilar native.