“Why would that?” she says, laughing, via video link to New York. “Sometimes you have trained well and just have an unlucky day. Should I kill myself or something?”
She does not mind the mediocre performance during her seventh marathon and talks just like her always positive former colleagues Churandy Martina. “I’m okay and I’m happy. I have done everything I can to be good and this is part of running marathons. I’m kind of a rollercoaster myself and I can’t always win. I have ups and downs and that’s okay. A marathon like today makes me humble.”
Heavy legs
Hassan says she doesn’t know why her legs felt very heavy, which meant she had to give up a lot of ground during climbs in the course. It is obvious to think that this has to do with the fact that she ran the tough Sydney marathon less than two months ago. But Hassan herself does not believe that, even though this was her third marathon in 2025. “I felt very good the last three weeks. So that can’t be the cause.”
Sifan Hassan’s agony in New York: ‘I could hardly raise my knees’
Hassan says he understands well that the three Kenyan top runners (including the later winner Hellen Obiri) kept the pace extremely high from the start. As a result, the Olympic champion was unable to catch up in the last ten kilometers. “I knew the race would be hard, because they are afraid of me and my final sprint. They took a risk with that, but I think that’s great of them. I often take risks myself in order to win.”
Sifan Hassan collapses in the final stages of his debut at the New York Marathon and finishes sixth, with a bizarre photo finish among the men
Hassan has no idea yet whether she will run three marathons again next year. “That’s actually only possible if you don’t want to walk on the track. And I haven’t really let go of that yet.”
Now it’s time for a holiday. “Lie down and sleep,” is how she summarizes her plans for the near future. “And don’t think about long runs or walking laps.”