Marathon runner bizarrely entered into 100m race at Olympic Games despite never competing in it before

The Olympics are well under way in Paris and the athletics events have just begun - with one runner set to complete a unique achievement when she takes part in the 100m.

Team GB sit sixth in the medal table at the start of the ninth day of the Paris Olympics, with their overall haul of 20 including six golds.

Two came on July 29 courtesy of the equestrian team eventing and Tom Pidcock in the men's cross country cycling.

A further pair of gold medals came the next day with Nathan Hales winning the shooting men's trap and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team triumphing in the swimming pool.

Alex Yee won a remarkable gold in the men's triathlon, while the women's quadruple sculls team claimed top spot in the rowing.

The athletics, which for many are the main event of the Olympics Games, are beginning to get up and running at the Stade de France.

As part of this, the iconic 100m race starts today with a preliminary round and the first-round heats this morning, before the semi-final and final take place on Saturday.

Competing in the heats will be Sharon Firisua, who is only one of two athletes from the Solomon Islands competing at the Paris Games.

However, though the 30-year-old is a runner, the 100m is not the event she traditionally competes in.

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In fact, Firisua is a distance runner, having competed in the 5000m at Rio 2016 and the marathon at Tokyo 2020 for the Oceania nation.

She missed out on qualification for the marathon in Paris, but is now instead competing at the other end of the running scale in the form of the 100m, which she has not competed in before.

Michael Kuali, president of the Solomon Islands Athletics Federation, has said that two sprinters were put forward by the nation to take part in the 100m, but the National Olympic Committee opted to make the eyebrow-raising decision for Firisua to compete in the event.

It is the latest interesting sidenote to the 100m race after a record-breaking sprinter was denied her place in the event due to an administrative error.

As per ABC News, Kuali said: "They said [the 100m] is the only space [at Paris] that remains for Solomon Islands.

"The decision was for Sharon Firisua to represent the country in the 100m sprint instead.

"And that's all we know about the selection. We've never been consulted for the selection process, they are the ones responsible for submitting athletes for the Olympics."