Sinead Diver | On the Road Again

Fresh off the high of a top 10 finish in the marathon at the Olympic Games, Sinead Diver found herself shuffling on a rickety treadmill in hotel quarantine – counting down the hours until she could reunite with her young family.

Her two boys, Eddie and Dara, had watched eagerly as their Mum mustered a barnstorming finish in Tokyo to deliver a result that justified her two months away from home.

“They really loved watching the race. It helped that I had that sprint finish at the end, for them that was nearly like me winning the race because they were really excited about it,” she said.

But just eight weeks after her Olympic success and six weeks out of hotel quarantine, Diver calls from London – two days away from her third consecutive London Marathon.

Conceding that the seed was planted by coach Nic Bideau prior to the Olympics, the 44-year-old says her initial response was simple:

“Nope, absolutely not.”

But a gradual build up had the evergreen endurance machine growing in confidence, and with the tick of approval from her husband Colin – Diver set off to London, shaking the legs out upon landing to cross the line in fourth place at the Great Manchester 10km (32:31).

“I’m here now and I’m feeling really good. The fitness is there from the Olympics, I’m just hoping it shines on Sunday,” she said.

“I want to run well. I have come all this way and committed to doing hotel quarantine again, I wouldn’t have come here if I wasn’t feeling ready.”

Diver has a strong history at the event, running her personal best of 2:24:11 at the 2019 installment to finish in seventh position before returning in 2020 where she was the eighth.

Due to a range of factors including an altered preparation, challenging weather conditions and the presence of nine sub 2:20 women in the field – the Australian is simply hoping to produce her best on the day.

“Usually going into a marathon, I know the pace I am going to aim for and am confident that I am going to do it, whereas now I’m going to have to run by feel,” she said. 

Diver will be joined by compatriot Eloise Wellings (Nic Bideau) who is set to make her marathon debut after an accomplished career on the track and a break for the birth of her second child, with the two living together in Teddington prior to the event.

“This is Eloise’s first marathon so I have been giving her as many tips as I can, and I think she is going to do really well. She’s fit and excited and I’m excited for her as well,” Diver said.

The duo has moved into the event hotel which Diver says “feels a bit more like Melbourne” due to the strict COVID-19 protocols, with athletes segregated in green, amber and red groups based on countries and also wearing tags that beep when in close proximity with others.

With next year’s Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships in her sights, Diver is looking forward to traveling with her family – but she will have to lift her game if she is to impress her eldest son Eddie, with the keen skateboarder recently starstruck when meeting Olympian Hayley Wilson.

“He met her at the skatepark and was in absolute awe of her, and I was like ‘did you tell her your Mum went to the Olympics too?’,” Diver laughed.

The women’s race at the London Marathon will begin at 6:00pm Sunday (AEDT).

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 2/10/2021