Olympics-Athletics-Marathon newcomer Seidel battles elite to win bronze

Molly Seidel may have been competing in just her third marathon but the American relished the role of disruptor as she ran alongside the sport’s elite and took bronze in the Olympic women’s event on Saturday. Seidel, who switched from shorter distances and debuted at the U.S. trials in Atlanta last year, had not made any prediction lists in a field led by heavyweights like Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich, the world champion. They know who Seidel is now, after she became the third U.S. woman to get a medal in the event after gold medallist Joan Benoit in 1984 and bronze winner Deena Kastor in 2004.