Months later, Rachel Hannah takes her place on the Pan Am podium
Long distance runner originally finished fourth but was bumped up to a medal after a disqualification
Toronto's Rachel Hannah won a silver medal at the Cross Country Championships last weekend — the second medal she won Saturday, despite only being involved in one race.
Hannah received a bronze for her performance in the women's marathon at this summer's Pan Am Games at a ceremony Saturday. The Toronto long-distance runner originally placed fourth, but after a failed drug test by the winner, Hannah is now on the podium.
"It still feels just as special as it would've the day of the race," she told Matt Galloway on Metro Morning, still wearing her Pan Am medal.
"I feel rewarded — because I know I've done it with integrity."
Hannah has kept watch on the issues of doping in professional sports, but said she never anticipated it having an effect on her running like it did in Pan Am.
She said Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee generally does a good job of drug testing, and she said that's it's a clean sport overall.
She was given the medal in front of the cross-country crowd on the weekend, which she said made it even more memorable.
"It was an incredibly special moment, and it really hit home when the whole room was singing our national anthem for me," she said. "That's when I realized I had sincere, genuine support from everybody."
The day she ran the race — July 18 — was sweltering, hitting more than 20 C by 7 a.m. The route, up and down hills through the muggy city, was insurmountable for some runners. There were 16 participants in the race, but only 11 finished.
Hannah credits the crowd for boosting her energy.
"The tremendous support all along the race... kept me going when it got extremely challenging."
She said at one point she didn't know if she would be able to finish what was only her second marathon.
Her first one was in May of this year.
With the medal, Hannah now has her eyes on qualifying for the 10,000-metre race in the Rio Olympics.