‘I can’t wait to get on the plane’: Stephanie Davis savouring surprise Olympic marathon dream

Runner will wear Team GB’s kit for the first time in Tokyo after a whirlwind rise, writes Paul Eddison

Stephanie Davis will represent Team GB in Tokyo (National Lottery)

Stephanie Davis admits it is a little mad that she will wear her GB kit for the first time when she lines up for the Tokyo Olympics marathon.

In an era where it feels like sports careers are planned out from the earliest age, Davis is the exception, a refreshing throwback to the Olympics’ amateur ethos.

It was less than three years ago that she was lining up for her first marathon, in Berlin in 2018 in a race most famous for Eliud Kipchoge’s world record run. Even that was simply a case of following others’ lead.