Heroic supermum, 44, breaks a 33-year drought for Australia in the Olympic marathon final and finishes in the top 10 despite only taking up the sport a decade ago

Sinead Diver, 44, finished an impressive 10th in marathon at Tokyo Olympics
Melbourne mother-of-two 'discovered' the sport just over a decade ago
Diver publicly thanked her husband Colin in emotional interview post race
Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here

By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:06 BST, 7 August 2021 | Updated: 04:06 BST, 7 August 2021

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A supermum from Melbourne has provided inspiration for countless Aussies after finishing in the top 10 of the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.

Sinead Diver, 44, was born in Ireland before moving to Australia in 2002 when she was 25.

Diver, the oldest member of the Australian athletics team, roared home on a hot and humid morning in Sapporo to claim 10th spot in two hours, 31 minutes and 14 seconds on Saturday morning.

The top 10 result broke a 33-year drought in the gruelling 42km event for Australia, after Lisa Ondieki finished seventh at the Seoul Games in 1988.

Melbourne mother of two Sinead Diver (pictured) cracked the top ten in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday

Four years earlier Ondieki snared a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

'I'm speechless, I'm so happy,' Diver said post-race. 'I didn't expect to come top 10.

'That was something I really wanted before the race, so I'm absolutely stoked that I fought for that spot at the end.

'I had to sprint to get past the girl in front of me.'

Diver also thanked her husband Colin before adding that her father was 'probably the proudest man on the planet at the moment'.

Diver, a mother of two, only took up running seriously after moving to Australia and joining the Melbourne Track Club.

Sinead Diver's two boys (pictured) were cheering on their mum from the loungeroom of their Melbourne home with proud dad Colin

'My coach (Nic Bideau) said to me before the race 'the first 90 minutes you've just got to feel relatively comfortable, the race doesn't start until after that,' she told Channel Seven.

'I kept reminding myself of that and I kept pulling back a bit.

'It was really hot. I'm just so relieved that I was able to stay strong until the end.'

Peres Jepchirchir upset fellow Kenyan and current world record holder Brigid Kosgei to win the women's gold medal, stopping the clock at 2:27:20.

Ellie Pashley was the second Australian across the line, finishing in 23rd spot in a time of 2:33:39 while Lisa Weightman, competing at her fourth Games, was 26th in 2:34:19.

Brett Robinson, Jack Rayner and Liam Adams will represent Australia in Sunday morning's men's marathon, the final track and field event on the Tokyo Games program.