Olympic Runner Mysteriously Drops Out Of 10,000M Olympic Final While Leading

In a mysterious turn of events during the women’s 10,000-meter race at the Paris Olympics on Friday, Eritrean runner Rahel Daniel, who had been leading the pack, unexpectedly dropped out midway through the race.

Daniel set the pace early on, maintaining her lead as she passed the 2k mark just over six minutes into the race. With 20 laps still to go, and after running for more than seven minutes at the front, Daniel’s promising run came to a sudden end.

As the race progressed, Daniel began to trail behind, her pace slowing noticeably. As other runners surged past her, Daniel unexpectedly took a right turn and slowly jogged off the track, leaving the NBC commentators wondering what had gone wrong.

"And off goes Daniel," the commentator said as the runner veered off from the pack and left the track. "Rahel Daniel, who was running in the front, has decided that's it."

"Well, that's surprising," added the other commentator. "She didn't look like she was limping or in any pain, so she just decided that her Olympic run was over."

The gold medal was claimed by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, who finished with a time of 30:43.25. Italy’s Nadia Battocletti took the silver, clocking in at 30:43.35, while the bronze medal went to Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who completed the race in 30:44.12.

"Maybe Daniel just didn't feel well. Who knows? But she's off. She's out of the race," one of the commentators said after Daniel left.

It seemed like Daniel had a steady pace that could have helped her medal in the race, but the 22-year-old dropped out early.

The reason for her departure has yet to be discovered. Her participation in the 10,000-meter final will mark her finish in the Paris Olympics.

She's still young in her athletic career, having already notched two titles in the World Cross Country Tour. If she's to qualify, Daniel will have another opportunity to participate in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.

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