Britain's 800m bronze came out of the blue but hardly out of turn

Special report: the Sydney Olympics

Guardian

That was because it meant she had finally reached the Olympic podium four years - and enough injuries to keep ER in scripts for months - after she had suffered the worst few days of her career.

She had gone to Atlanta among the favourites for gold but was reduced to a shadow of her usual self by a stress fracture. She still battled through to finish fourth in the 800m and 11th in the 1500m but was so disillusioned with the sport that she threw her spikes in the bin on her way out of the Centennial Stadium.

She retrieved them to come back the following year. Holmes travelled to Athens as the shortest-priced favourite for the world championships after posting a 1500m time that was 4sec faster than anyone else, only for her to break down less than a lap into the first round with an achilles injury.

Trying to battle back from that setback, Holmes has twice been advised to retire by doctors only to ignore their advice. That stubbornness earned her Britain's first 800m medal since Ann Packer triumphed at Tokyo in 1964.

"The bronze feels like gold to me," said the 30-year-old former army sergeant. "I ran out of my skin, but this is the Olympics and I had nothing to lose."

Fifth at the bell, Holmes made a bold bid for glory 200m from the line when she kicked away from the field. She held the lead until coming off the final bend when she was overhauled, first by Mutola and then by Austria's Stephanie Graf.

Mutola, third in Atlanta, won in 1min 56.15sec, with Graf second in 1:56.64. Holmes clocked 1:56.80, the second-fastest time of her career.

The selectors deserve a pat on the back. They waived their normal selection policy to give Holmes her chance and she has repaid their faith.

Holmes was so overcome afterwards that she burst into tears: "I just gave it everything," she said. "I can't believe it - I'm in shock. It's absolutely amazing. I've been through so much. Six weeks ago I was not going to be here. I've had the worst injuries you can imagine."

Mutola's victory was a wonderful present to give her country on a national holiday. Still only 27, this was already her fourth Olympics having made her debut as a 15-year-old in Seoul in 1988.

Born in Maputo, the Mozambique capital, Mutola was a successful football player. When she was 14, she was kicked off her local team because she was better than any of the boys.

The country's poet laureate, whose son is a track coach, read the story and suggested she try a running career. It was a golden piece of advice.

Holmes was not the only runner to expunge the disappointment of Atlanta. In the 5,000m, Bristol's Jo Pavey, who is coached by the BBC's athletics commentator Christine Boxer, continued her rapid progress this year with a personal-best 14:58.27 for 12th.

For a sheer dramatic finish, nothing could beat the men's 10,000m where the peerless Haile Gebrselassie retained his title by the slimmest of margins in a breathtaking conclusion to the day's programme. The diminutive Ethiopian beat his perennial rival Paul Tergat of Kenya by 0.09sec to win in 27:18.20. It was the closest finish in Olympic history. Their elbows clashed as the two fought side by side and they drifted out to lane three but Gebrselassie still managed to clock 25sec for the final 200m.

There had been fears he might not be able to run here after injuring an achilles tendon, which threatened his participation. Then, as he completed his preparation, he was hampered by a foot injury to the extent that he considered pulling out. "For a time I didn't know whether I would come here," said Gebrselassie, who has never lost a 10,000m race during his mature career. "At the last moment I decided to try and now I'm very happy."