Sifan Hassan capped off a remarkable week by winning Olympic gold in the women’s marathon, having already won two bronze medals in two long-distance athletics events.
Just 36 hours after finishing third in the 10,000m final, Hassan restarted and won the marathon in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds.
The Ethiopian-born Dutchman also won bronze in the 5,000m on Tuesday, becoming the first European medalist since Romania’s Constantina Dita-Tomescu in 2008. The first player to win this event.
Hassan breaks Olympic record and wins women’s marathon title
Already a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m at Tokyo 2020, Hassan beat Ethiopian Tigste Assefa by three seconds in the sprint. Kenyan Helen Obiri won the bronze medal.
“I felt like I was in a dream,” Hassan said. “At the end I thought, ‘It’s just a 100m sprint. Come on, Sifan. Do it again. Just feel it, like a 200m sprinter’.”
How Hassan won historic marathon gold
Hassan used the same strategy on the hilly 26.2-mile course as she did on the track, lingering behind the leaders for much of the race before mustering the energy late in the race for a kick that would become The best the sport has ever seen.
Surprisingly, the race looked more like a crowded race on an oval track. Assefa tried to block her way as Hassan gathered for the final pass and Hassan moved inside on the turn.
Assefa tried to push her against the barrier that separated the stadium from cheering fans. The runners exchange elbows, then Hassan overtakes Assefah and sprints for the win. By simply completing a marathon, she ran more than 62 kilometers in one week and now has six Olympic medals.
Hassan went into the Olympics hoping to match Emil Zatopek’s 1952 performance, when the Czech runner swept the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at the Helsinki Games, but in Came away with only one gold medal and two bronze medals.
Hassan enjoyed an unforgettable Olympics
Britain’s Clara Evans finished 46th, more than 10 minutes behind Hassan’s winning time but still a season’s best, while compatriot Rose Harvey finished 78th Name, Calli Hauger-Thackery did not finish the game.
What happened to the men’s marathon?
A day earlier, Britain’s Emile Cairess had a strong performance in the men’s marathon, finishing an impressive fourth and Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola breaking the Olympic record .
Tola won the title in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds, giving the country its first gold medal of the Games. Bashir Abdi of Belgium won the silver medal in 2:06.47, and Benson Kipruto of Kenya won the bronze medal in 2:07.00.
Keres, who qualified for the Paris Olympics after finishing third in April’s London Marathon, finished fourth in 2:07.29, while Eliud Kipchoge was aiming for an unprecedented consecutive run. Won the Olympic title for the third time but failed to finish the race.
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