"I am very disappointed. I was very much looking forward to returning to the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, especially after how well I ran there last year. But a series of small niggles have prevented me from getting in the training block I require to be at my best and I have had to make the difficult decision to withdraw. I wish everyone who is running the TCS London Marathon on Sunday the very best of luck"

"These victories are more significant in my eyes than my previous ones, because in the past I had my fiancée with me, encouraging me"

"Running neck and neck with Kipchoge was a very difficult part of the race, but I believed my finish would be strong enough to win"

"It’s more significant because of what has happened. Joy comes frequently in life, but grief of this level is something you encounter only rarely. I have grief in my heart and I have joy"

"Listen to your body and make the necessary sacrifices. If you do that, you can fulfil your marathon potential and finish your career with a flourish"

"Maintaining fitness levels and full health as an athlete in your mid-30s will be hard. But don’t give up. Stick with it and aim to sign off your career on a high."

"During times when you struggle with injury, you may feel despondent and demotivated. You may not always be fully committed to carrying out the correct rehab exercises. But this will only make the marathon an even more difficult event to master"

"Oh, and on the subject of physio. Try to look after your body. You may feel bulletproof – especially during some of your greatest triumphs – but ignoring physiotherapy will create problems in the aftermath, especially during your marathon career. Injuries can – and will – cause huge frustration"

"you do not always train perfectly. Sometimes you will undertrain and you may not always have access to the best physiotherapy. These may prove crucial in achieving your career goals"

"From an early stage of your athletics development, you acknowledged the importance of discipline. Continue to listen to your coaches, remain focused, and this will help you enjoy many great successes"

"I know that Valencia is very fast. And [on the entry list] there are many strong competitors from different countries, so the expectations are very high"

"My mind tells me that I can still do better in the marathon. The Olympics is in front of us…maybe [Paris] will be my last Olympics"

"I train hard, but I’ve been struggling for a long time with injury–I’ve never finished my [marathon] training in a good way"

"It’s greater than my Olympic victory in Athens"

"I never achieved my maximum effort in the marathon"

"I hope I can run my personal best and get a good result there"

"Yes all I can do is try my best. I don't have any information about Toronto"

"I didn’t expect these conditions but I can run in hot conditions"

"I am getting that desire in me to win everything."

"I want to win no matter what happens."

"Many kids have started running in Debremarkos after watching me."

"I am so motivated (by my family)"

"She ran with the same smooth stride and placid, dispassionate look on her face that she carried through the Olympic race."

"The most relaxed-looking runner I have ever seen."

"I really did not get any encouragement from anyone, but I pushed on because I liked to run. I made my first national team in 1988."

"I knew I would be the Olympic Champion. I was running and the others were looking backwards, so I understood that they were tired, when for me the pace was easy. It was nice, because I could run strong and enjoy."

"I knew of 1960 Olympic marathon winner Abebe Bikila and 1968 winner Mamo Wolde from the radio, so I thought I’d try it, too."

"They thought I should be doing women things."

"I do not really want to be famous,But it's nice to be among the renowned athletes."

"I am hoping to make history, I feel like I have made good preparation."

"Well, for me the greatest of all marathons is of course the olympic marathon, but second place is Boston."

"Sometimes, if there are a lot of people around me when I go to a store, I feel a bit intimidated. I used to be shy. I still consider myself shy, but I'm a little better now and I'm getting used to it."

"I'm very happy to win a second time, I found it to be a very easy race."

"I've been told there is a big hill, but I didn't see it."

"They all went out of their way, getting us awards and everything."

"Even if I never ran again, I would have been content."

"The reaction I felt from people had a big impact on me, I suddenly felt such a great sense of responsibility. I felt that I had to try to keep running, as long as I possibly could."

"Before the race I was afraid of the others with better times, but soon I realized that they were not running fast today, I picked up the speed and they would not follow. At that point I was already sure that I would win because I practiced very hard."

"Never again, never again will I do this distance, it is too long."

"This is not only a special thing for me but also for my country and all African women."

"She is the only woman from Africa who has won the Olympics and Boston Marathon three times. She is an inspiration for us."

"I think she is an example for a lot of women who are discouraged by the culture because it does not reward you."

"If she can win four times, it gives us much more potential to think we can do it, maybe six times."

"For women, she seems like a very special person, she's very determined, If she wins four, we don't need anything else."

"My wife gave birth to a baby girl soon after the Olympics and I named her 'Fatuma' after you."

"Beyond these, I am drawn to the richness of this great country. Richness not summed in any currency, but in the people."

"I had to keep on checking who is behind me, how I am doing...that’s all I was doing, and I decided to be ahead of the boys, so I was always checking behind me."

"Since Valencia, I have just been training and focusing on Bengaluru. Even though the race has been put back two weeks, that hasn’t affected me. In fact, it’s allowed me to prepare slightly better."

"Of course, I set the women-only world record for the half marathon (1:06:11) in Valencia and that was a race without pacemakers. I have also run times for 10,000m on the track (personal best 30:36.75, 2016) and 10km on the road (31:35, 2017) that are better than the course record but the most important thing for me is to win."

"The race went according to plan, I was only thinking about the gold medal."