Kathmandu, August 11
Nepali marathon runner Santoshi Shrestha is set to compete in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics 2024 today.
Santoshi is the last of the seven Nepali athletes participating in this Olympics to compete. This is her first time competing in the Olympics, having qualified through the Universality Quota.
Santoshi arrived in Paris 10 days ago and has been practising to acclimate to the local environment. Though she was initially hesitant after seeing the marathon course, she gained confidence after Ethiopia’s Tola Tamirat won gold in the men’s marathon with an Olympic record.
Santoshi expressed that she would do her best based on her training. Her primary goal is to complete the marathon and then focus on setting a new record.
Santoshi, who earned the title of “Golden Girl” by winning gold in the 10,000-meter race at the 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu in 2019, is now competing in the marathon at the Olympics. She started her running career in middle-distance events and gradually transitioned to half marathons and full marathons.
After winning gold with a record time of 2 hours, 46 minutes, and 23 seconds in the Bangabandhu Marathon in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Santoshi secured her place in the Olympics.
So far, six Nepali athletes have completed their events at the Paris Olympics and have returned home. While swimmer Alexander Shah managed to set a new national record.
Swimmers Duana Lama and Alexander Shah, table tennis player Shantu Shrestha, badminton player Prince Dahal, shooter Sushmita Nepal, and judoka Manita Shrestha Pradhan were all eliminated in the first round.
