Sifan Hassan has won the silver medal in the 5,000 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Only the Kenyan top favorite Faith Kipyegon was too fast for the Dutch athlete in the final sprint. Kipyegon finished in 14.53.88, shortly before Hassan who crossed the finish line with a time of 14.54.11. The Kenyan Beatrice Chebet took bronze with a time of 14:54.33. The other Dutch finalist, Maureen Koster, finished twelfth.
In a tactical race in which none of the runners kept up the pace, Hassan, as usual, started at the back of the field. Before entering the final round, she moved forward, where she competed with Kipyegon, the world record holder in the 5,000 meters who had also won the 1,500 meters earlier this World Championship. In the end, Hassan just fell short. She won her second medal at this World Cup, after she had already won bronze in the 1,500 meters on Tuesday.
Afterwards, Hassan showed herself happy and “grateful” with her medal and her World Cup. The 30-year-old athlete told against NOS that she had entered the tournament with little confidence and had come to learn. “I am very happy with silver, because I had a marathon four months ago,” she referred to her marathon debut in London, where she immediately achieved a sensational victory. It was therefore not surprising that she had to lose out to Kipyegon. “She has run a world record for this distance, is just a bit faster in the last 50 meters,” says Hassan.
She had limited preparation time for the World Cup, but that she nevertheless finished on the podium twice makes her optimistic. “I have seen what I can do and how much more I have in me,” she said with a big smile. She will run the Chicago marathon in six weeks, for which she has continued to train in the meantime. When asked what her plans are for the Olympic Games in Paris next year – track and/or marathon – she did not comment. “We will see.”
Also read this column by Danielle Pinedo: At Sifan Hassan, medals and stories go together