Regina Joyce competed in the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, suffering in the heat and being described as ‘a self-inflicted victim of dehydration’ – despite the best advice of the medical team. She later recalled: ‘I ran a superb race for eighteen miles and then just fell apart. I had never run a marathon in that sort of heat nor did I know that you could keep your special drinks with you as long as you like.’

A scholarship athlete at Washington State University, Joyce had topped the British ranking lists at 1,500m and 3,000m in 1980 but failed to gain British team selection in 1981 and declared for Ireland, having earlier competed for England in the 1979 World Cross Country Championships at Limerick.

Her sister Monica also opted for Ireland. Before Los Angeles, Joyce had established herself as a marathon contender of genuine international standing, holding the lead for several miles in the inaugural World Championships marathon at Helsinki in 1983 before finishing eighth in 2:33:52.

Tom O’Riordan had written in his LA preview that ‘If Ireland is to get a medal in the marathon it should come in the women’s event from Regina Joyce.’ Her initial attempts to represent Ireland had been thwarted by the 1978 postal strike when her offer to represent Ireland went unacknowledged.