Sifan Hassan’s first official marathon has been a resounding success. The 30-year-old Dutch won the London Marathon on Sunday in a great time of 2:18.34, a Dutch record.
The Dutch record (2.22, 51) has been held since April 10, 2022 by Nienke Brinkman, who took over the record from Lornah Kiplagat. In London, Hassan made mincemeat of Brinkman’s time during her debut and raced to victory.
She also met the limit for participating in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Hassan ran a remarkable race, because after an hour her race seemed to be over. She began kneading ostentatiously in her left thigh, pausing twice to stretch. Everyone expected her to get out, but the Dutch trump bit the pain and continued to close the gap to the front runners and run first across the finish line on The Mall with a powerful final sprint.