Kinzang Lhamo, a marathon-runner from Bhutan, received the loudest cheers from the Paris crowd as she crossed the line in the women's marathon event at the Paris Olympics 2024.
But she wasn't the winner. Nor the runner-up. Not even the bronze medalist. In fact, the 26-year-old Lhamo finished last. Not just by a small margin either; Lhamo finished nearly an hour and a half after marathon winner Sifan Hassan had crossed the line.
Netherlands' Sifan Hassan had smashed the Olympic women's marathon record with a time of 2 hours 22 minutes 55 seconds. But that wasn't enough to get the biggest applause of the day. Watch: Kinzang Lhamo earns the Parisian applause #Marathon motion et immense soutien de la foule pour Lhamo Kinzang (Bhoutan) qui termine pieds, mais se remet courir juste la fin pour le tapis bleu.
Cest a aussi les jeux ! Respect pic.twitter.com/lgatHLjbjS In a great example of the famed 'Olympic spirit', the Paris crowd stood and applauded the Bhutanese runner.