Marathon star Fionnuala McCormack sizzles in Rio sun

When the going got tough, she was just getting going. Fionnuala McCormack turned in a typically battling performance to finish 20th in a lifetime best of 2:31:22 in the Olympic marathon yesterday, held in brutally hot conditions around the streets of Rio.

When the gun fired at 9.30am, the sun was already high in the sky and the mid-20s temperature ensured the race would turn into a struggle for survival.

McCormack, for one, was relishing the challenge.