Before her marathon debut in London, Sifan Hassan said she was “a little scared”. She didn’t know what to expect at the magical distance of 42.195 kilometers. She mainly came to learn.
The 30-year-old Dutch athlete has never run a marathon before and during the preparation she wondered several times why she had decided to run one “for heaven’s sake”. On the day of the race, she cried with excitement – something she says she never does. She should have vomited for the same reason.
Her fear turned out to be unfounded, as witnessed by her spectacular race: she crossed the finish line first in London, setting a new Dutch record.
With a mixture of disbelief and excitement, she reacted to the organization’s camera after her race: “I’m not even talking about winning, but I just can’t believe I finished the marathon.” She said that she had wanted to tape her left leg in advance, but that she had forgotten in all the consternation.
The modesty and vulnerability characterize the special character of the top runner who won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and took bronze in the 1,500 meters. She only gives up if there is really no other way, as was also apparent during those Games: she fell in a run of the 1,500 meters, but she recovered and won the race after all.
Stop the pain
In London she stayed on her feet, but the victory did not come easily. Hassan joined the leading group from the start of the race, but had to stop after nineteen kilometers with pain in her left leg. After stretching her leg, she fell behind the leaders in the race, leaving her alone in the chase for miles. Only shortly after the thirty-five kilometer mark did she manage to find the connection with the leading group with an acceleration.
After a final sprint, Hassan was the first to cross the finish line in a time of 2:18:33. With that, she not only crossed the limit for the Olympic Games in Paris next year, but she also improved the Dutch record by more than four minutes. That was in the name of Nienke Brinkman.
The fact that she wanted to run her first marathon in London was also typical of Hassan. She was “curious” and wanted to compete with the best – the field of participants included many top runners such as world record holder Brigid Kosgei (who got out after just one kilometre) and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir.
Hassan’s manager Jos Hermens had advised her to debut at a smaller marathon. But Hassan only wanted to go to London. The big question is what else is possible in the marathon after her impressive win. The world record is 2:14.04, set in Chicago in 2019. It does not seem that Hassan wants to become a marathon specialist: she has already indicated that she also wants to continue running on the track.
Ramadan
In addition to the usual doubt and tension surrounding running a first marathon, the timing of this year’s London edition was extra complicated for Hassan. The preparation, which Hassan largely completed in her native Ethiopia, coincided with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which took place in the weeks leading up to the marathon. Hassan did not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. “It is very difficult to make many training kilometers while fasting,” she told NOS from her native country.
The fasting month ended this week, but the effect was still visible. The drinking, on which she had not been able to train in recent weeks, became uncomfortable during the competition. Drinking is not necessary at the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, the distances Hassan runs the most on the track, but it is essential during a marathon.
At the last drinking point, things almost go wrong when she has to make a crazy maneuver to get her water bottle. Once she has it, she also offers her competitors some of her drinks.
The Ethiopian Alemu Megertu and the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, with whom Hassan walks to the finish line, decline her offer.
In the end, Hassan has the most to do with it. She manages to squeeze out another gear just before the finish, points upwards when she knows she’s going to win, and crosses the finish line emotionally. “I will never forget this in my life,” she says in an interview afterwards, while covering her eyes with her hands.
Read also this account of Hassan’s olympic week in Tokyo, 2021