Today is the day and all eyes are on Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Athletes from countries all over the world will come together tonight for the Olympics opening ceremonies. Among them, will be Desiree Linden.
Linden is a SoCal native and marathon runner who will be running for Team USA at the Olympic women's marathon event on Sunday, August, 14th. But it's not her first time at the Olympics. While chatting with Take Two's A Martinez, she shared her experience from the marathon at the 2012 London games and the injury that ultimately sidelined her.
"When I started the race, the very first right-hand turn on the course is a very hard right-hand turn, I was like 'There's no way I'm going to be able to finish.' The pain was just so intense. So I kinda hobbled through, a mile or two and was just like...this could be detrimental to my career if I am going to try and finish this race. So, I stepped off and that was um...you go from making the Olympic team and then stepping off the course and not even getting to see the finish line."
It's been four years since an injury sidelined her at the Olympics and since then, she's been hard at work at her home in Michigan. She sent us her Olympic audio diary, where she detailed her race to redemption in the weeks leading up to Rio.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.