Paris 2024: Dutch Athlete Sifan Hassan Breaks Two Records, Wins Olympic Marathon Gold

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan managed to break two records by winning the Olympic gold medal in the marathon in Paris.

Battling with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, Hassan overtook her in the final stretch, crossing the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 55 seconds, setting an Olympic record. In the previous days, she had won bronze medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events at Stade de France.

Assefa took the silver medal, finishing just 3 seconds behind Hassan, and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the bronze medal, finishing 15 seconds later.

All the favorites stayed together until the last 10 kilometers

The race was particularly challenging, with all the favorites staying together in the leading pack until the last 10 kilometers. Assefa led with other contenders, while Hassan stayed back, as she had done on the track, waiting for the right moment to move forward.

In the final turn, Hassan passed Assefa on the inside, with their elbows briefly touching. The Ethiopian athlete could not recover, and Hassan sprinted to the finish.

The first athlete to win medals in all three distance events

Hassan’s victory completed an exhausting Olympic schedule. The 31-year-old became the first athlete to win a medal in all three distance events in a single competition since Czech athlete Emil Zátopek achieved the feat in 1952.

Initially, Hassan had registered to compete in the 1,500m event as well but decided that the challenge was already significant with three events.

Before Sunday’s race, Hassan had said that finishing a marathon is “a kind of hell” and collapsed after crossing the finish line. When she got up, she was overjoyed, hearing the crowd cheer her on.