When Malindi Elmore hung up her racing shoes in 2012 and retired from Olympic competition, she was ready for a new phase of life. But it turned out that phase also included competing in the Olympics, just in a different event.

"If you had told me at 20 years old that I'd still be in this sport 24 years later, I think that would be hard to believe. And I, certainly as a younger athlete, would have had a hard time believing I would be a competitive Ironman and marathon runner," said Elmore of Kelowna, B.C.

Elmore started out competing in the 1500 metre. She qualified for her first Olympics in 2004, then missed out on qualifying for the next two Olympic Games by less than a second each time.

But after retiring in 2012, she found a new passion in endurance sports, which eventually brought her back to the Olympics.

Elmore, who is now 44, will compete in the marathon at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It will be her second time competing in the event, after finishing ninth in Tokyo in 2021 with a time of 2:30:59.

"I will never give up the dream of winning an Olympic medal at some point. And this might be the last point, you know? So, if the opportunity presents and I run the race in my life, you just never know, and I wouldn't count myself out," she told Matt Galloway on The Current.

Retirement

Even though Elmore initially retired from Olympic competition in 2012, she didn't slow down. She started doing triathlons, and competed in Ironman events. She had two children, and started a coaching career. But she said she couldn't resist the call to run. 

"I love being competitive and I love being active. But, at the end of the day, when I went back to running, I realized that what I love most is running. And so I was spending the whole time getting through a swim in <<and?>> a bike race just to do what I enjoyed the most," said Elmore. 

She was first inspired to run a marathon when some of her friends invited her to join them for a marathon in Chicago in 2018.

It was just a month away, and despite the fact that she had given birth just three months earlier, she wanted to do it. 

But Elmore's husband convinced her to hold off for a little bit, and the pair came up with a training plan. A few months later, Elmore ran a marathon in Houston. 

WATCH | Malindi Elmore on historic marathon finish: 'It was really hard, I had to use all that I had' 

She finished just two minutes off the Olympic standard, a year away from the Olympic Games. 

"We just kind of looked at each other and laughed when I finished the race. And he's like, 'You got to try for the Olympics now," said Elmore. 

"It was pretty exciting thinking, 'oh, wow. Like, here I am, 39, turning 40. I have the opportunity to get back into sport at a high level and and have another shot at it.'"

A year later, with more dedicated training, Elmore went to the same marathon and finished third, beating the Canadian record by more than two minutes. 

It's not an easy change to go from running 1500 metres in a race to more than 42km.

Mike Van Tighem, who first coached her in Grade 8 at a club in Kelowna, says he wasn't too surprised that she excelled in the marathon.

"Her first marathon in the Ironman was three hours and I said, 'You know, if you can just get rid of that silly 4km swim, 112 mile bike ride as a warm up, you can probably run a good marathon,'" said Van Tighem.

It's no easy feat. Van Tighem says that growing up, Elmore claimed even the 3,000 metre was too long. But, he says, she's always been a very aerobic athlete. 

"That lower level of intensity is something she's he's really responded to," said Elmore. 

How motherhood changed her perspective

Elmore finished the marathon in the top ten in 2021 at the Olympics in Tokyo, which was the best result ever by a Canadian woman in the marathon. 

Now she's going for the podium 20 years after her first Olympic experience, and it's her children who will be urging her on. This time her two kids will actually be able to see her race, unlike her last trip to the Olympics, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and had limited spectators.

"It's been really, really motivating to be able to bring my kids to Paris to see me actually race at the Olympics," said Elmore. 

"When it comes down to it, in the really tough, dark moments in the marathon, I really I think about them and wanting to make them proud and wanting to be the role model that I want to be for my kids."

That being said, they aren't the biggest cheerleaders. Her nine-year-old son wasn't very impressed when she told him she'd be going to the Olympics again.

"He said 'Huh, mom, they couldn't find anyone faster, eh?'" said Elmore. "I said, 'Well, Charlie, you know, it's kind of a big deal to make the Olympics.' He's like, 'well, mom, this is your third time. It's not that big a deal."

"Then he goes, 'Did you bring me a snack? I'm hungry.'"