Emotional moment Australian steeplechase runner who tore her Achilles in a heartbreaking fall is reunited with her husband on her way home after he pulled out of his races to be with her in hotel quarantine
- Genevieve Gregson ruptured her Achilles tendon in 3,000m steeplechase final
- Faces lengthy stint on sidelines after the horror fall that ended her race
- Reunited with husband Ryan in tearful airport reunion before flying home
- Still struggling to come to terms of how her Olympic dreams came to abrupt halt
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
The athlete who broke Australia's hearts after a horror fall in the dying stages in her third Olympic final is back in the arms of her husband after a tearful reunion.
Genevieve Gregson was competing in the 3,000m steeplechase final at the Tokyo Olympics when she ruptured her Achilles tendon at the last water jump on the final lap.
Unable to complete the race, the Australian track and field star had to be wheeled from the arena in a wheelchair and spent the final hours of her 32nd birthday in hospital.
Four days on, a 'lost and empty' Gregson is still struggling to come to terms of how her Olympic dreams came to an abrupt halt in one moment.
But first, she must do two weeks of mandatory quarantine after arriving in Melbourne on Sunday.
She has been reunited with her husband, fellow Australian track athlete Ryan Gregson, who ditched competing in Europe to rush to his devastated wife's side.
Genevieve Gregson (pictured after the horror fall) faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines after rupturing her Achilles tendon on the last water jump of the 3,000 steeplechase final
Gregson shared footage of the couple's emotional reunion at Singapore Airport.
Hobbling on crutches and with a brace on her right leg, Gregson hobbled towards the waiting arms of her husband before flying home together.
'Made it and being looked after by the government. Feeling grateful,' Gregson captioned an airport selfie.
Gregson has vowed to return to the track as she ponders her future, despite the very serious injury that many runners never fully recover from.
During her transit home, she opened about harrowing toll the last few days in candid detail as she prepares for double Achilles surgery.
She had issues with her left Achilles in lead up to the Rio Olympics five years ago before her right one ruptured on Wednesday night.
'When I go to schedule my next few weeks, I break down and struggle to get my mind back on track,' Gregson wrote.
'For days now I have felt just deeply sad. A type of sad that if I'm not distracted, I feel lost, empty and even a little scared.'
Injured Olympian Genevieve Gregson hobbled into the waiting arms of husband Ryan in an emotional reunion
Gregson isn't afraid of the long road to recovery ahead of her but is shattered how the tendon rupture brought all of her hard work to an abrupt halt.
'I got in such a good place but was derailed from a freak injury,' she wrote.
'A missed chance to finish high up in my final and prove myself on the world stage.
'A missed opportunity to lower my Australian record & a lack of performance to show how far I'd come and how hard I'd worked. I wasn't ready to stop and I feel broken and empty.
'I do have bigger dreams in my head that will have to be sidelined for now, however I also chose this sport for a reason - I love a challenge and I'm never looking for the easy road.'
Genevieve Gregson (pictured with husband Ryan) arrived in Melbourne on Sunday
Gregson ended the post by saying she'd found peace in seeing other Olympians compete, even though she's hurting.
'As I sit here on the plane home still slightly fractured, I'm ready to start a new chapter. Goodbye Olympics, I'm not finished, and I will see you all soon,' she wrote.
Gregson returned to the track two nights after her horror fall to cheer on her Australian teammates and expressed her raw feelings in an emotional television interview.
She has her eye set on a fourth Olympics in Paris in three years time.
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'It's looking like I'm not just going to get one Achilles fixed I'm going to try and go for both which means the next year ahead of me is pretty brutal,' Gregson told Channel Seven.
'I'll be wheelchair-bound for a while but (her husband) Ryan is on his way home and I'll meet him in Singapore and we'll work out a plan from there and it will be a good one because we're a good team and I wouldn't have come this far without him.
'I'm just ready to find a plan for the next year or so because I don't feel like I'm done yet. I love the roads.
'I think I've got a lot to give in the marathon or just in road running in general and I'm such a proud Australian athlete.
'I just couldn't imagine a setback like this tearing me away from the sport. I don't see it that way.'
Australia's Genevieve Gregson lays on the track after getting injured during the women's 3000m steeplechase final
Uganda's Peruth Chemutai won the women's steeplechase final ahead of Courtney Frerichs from the US and Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng.
Channel Seven commentators Bruce McAveney and Tasmyn Manou were confused as to why Gregson hadn't crossed the finish line in Wednesday night's final before seeing the fall on a replay.
They were also unaware at the time of the serious extent of Gregson's injury.
'I feel like she's cramping. I think she's hurt her calf or something,' Manou said
'I wanting to know. She is OK. She's getting into a wheelchair. But I think she's hurt her calf. She's up and about. She is speaking to the medical team but she's hurt the lower leg.'
Unable to get back on her feet, Genevieve Gregson (pictured) left the track in a wheelchair after a horror fall in the dying stages of the 3,000 steeplechase final
Gregson later shared a updated Manou with the bad news via text message and shared a photo on social media from her hospital bed still wearing her track uniform with a support brace on her leg and a brave smile.
'She's ruptured her Achilles, which is just a shocking injury. It is a long rehab,' Manou said on Thursday.
'Unfortunately, she has had Achilles issues in the past. This was her good Achilles.'
Seven years earlier, Gregson celebrated her 25th birthday by joining Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue on stage while performing 2014 at the 2014 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.
A heartbroken Genevieve Gregson (pictured) spent the night of her 32nd birthday in hospital after rupturing her Achilles tendon
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