Bhutan's marathon runner gets standing ovation for last-place finish

PARIS : The last athlete to finish Sunday's marathon, an hour and a half after the winner, did so to a standing ovation in a display of Olympic spirit on the last day of the Paris Games.

Bhutan's Kinzang Lhamo finished the hilly and hot course in three hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds, encouraged over the last kilometres by spectators cycling and running alongside her.

As she hit the home straight, fans in the stands in front of the Invalides monument got to their feet to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line, the 80th woman to complete the course.

Lhamo, 26, was participating in her first international competition, and was the Himalayan nation's flagbearer in the opening ceremony.

An ultramarathon specialist, Lhamo came second in 2022 in the Snowman Race, an extreme event covering 203 kilometres through the Himalayan mountains. She took up running after joining Bhutan's army.

The Olympics was initially conceived as a competition open to all sporting amateurs, though the reality has long since moved on with most participants now professional athletes.