Hassan without medals at World Cup, sixth at 5 kilometers: ‘I have learned my lesson’ | Sport

At about 300 meters from the finish she accelerated and with 200 meters to go she took the lead, hoping that she would leave her competitors behind with a flaming final sprint. “My coach had come up with this and I also thought I should try it. I wanted to go down fighting and not be left behind with the feeling that I had left something behind. But I couldn’t do that sprint, the others were better.”

Hassan previously finished fourth in the 10,000 meters at the World Cup.

Hassan was also not involved in the 5000 meters.

AFP

“I’ve learned my lesson. You can’t do it with talent alone. I have to train harder if I want to win medals again,” said the two-time Olympic champion after the 5000 meters final.

Hassan’s story is now known. After the successful Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she won gold in the 5000 and 10,000 meters and bronze in the 1500 meters, the Ethiopian-born was completely done with running. She was mentally and physically exhausted and needed rest and a long vacation.

Hassan went to Turkey, visited her native Ethiopia and celebrated Ramadan in Mecca for the first time in her life. The athlete, who has already won seventeen medals at major international championships, even considered not running any competitions for the whole year 2022 and therefore also skipping the World Cup. In the end, she decided to resume training only ten weeks before the global final battle.

“The 2019 World Cup in Doha was special because I became world champion there for the first time, the Olympic Games in Tokyo were special because I won three medals there. This tournament is also special because I now know that talent alone is not enough. I started training too late and everyone else has been busy all year. So I have to admit that the others were better.”