Sifan Hassan will be running the 5,000, 10,000 and marathon at the Paris Olympics. She just announced this at a press conference.
The big question in athletics
The question of which distances the 31-year-old Hassan would run had been on people’s minds for quite some time. She was placed in the 1500 meters, 5000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon. When we look at the program of the Olympic Games, that seems an impossible task. She would run the 10,000 on Friday, then run the 1500 final late on Saturday evening and then start the marathon early on Sunday morning, with little to no sleep. In the end, she logically drops the 1500, which gives her 3 extra days without a competition.
On the other hand, it wouldn’t be the first time that Hassan amazes the whole world with her performances and it remains Sifan Hassan. An athlete who apparently does what she feels like and is always out to make the impossible possible. The online press conference was therefore a big happening with many journalists and of course Runner’s World was also there. Yesterday we already sent out a poll via Instagram in which our followers could guess what she was going to run. Many people were already in the right corner and voted for a combination of track distances and the marathon.
The Grand Lady of Tokyo
At the Tokyo Games, Sifan Hassan was the big lady in the Olympic stadium. At that time, she combined the 1500 meters, the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters. Not without success, because she won gold in the 5000 and the 10,000 meters and won bronze in the 1500 meters. At that time, she already complained about great fatigue due to all those distances. Also keep in mind that the battle for gold in the 5000 meters consists of two races (a series and a final) and in the 1500 meters even a series, a semi-final and a final, three races. That means more competition days and fewer days on which you can calmly walk the fatigue out of your legs.
‘More nervous than ever’
The challenge this year is mainly to combine the 10,000 meters and the marathon. The 10,000 meters is on Friday evening and the marathon is on Sunday morning. Little time for recovery. ‘I am more nervous than ever and I am very curious to see how it will turn out’, she says. ‘I have been thinking about which distances I should do for 2-3 months, and only made the decision two weeks ago.’ In the end she chooses to only drop the 1500, but to do all the long distances. ‘All three are endurance distances. It is about how long I can handle the pain. The marathon is super tough, 4 times the distance of a 10,000 meters.’ She calculates in her characteristic way. ‘I would like to combine the road with the track. I am curious to see how I can do this. I have already tested running a marathon 6 weeks after a track race, but now I am already running the marathon after one day.’ Nevertheless, she does not shy away from creating high expectations. When asked how many medals she thinks she will win, she answers with a laugh: ‘We’ll see: three?’ She analyses: ‘I have a good chance at the 5000 meters, I’ll run the series and then I have a few days of rest before the final. After that I can start the 10,000 meters reasonably fresh and then there’s the marathon. I don’t know how I’ll feel then. I don’t know yet.’
More and more long distances
On the other hand, Hassan’s endurance has increased (even more). She started out as a middle-distance athlete, for example at the Rio Games in 2016 she ran the 800 and 1500 meters, but over the years she has added longer distances until she won the prestigious London Marathon herself at the beginning of last year. Later that year she put herself on the map again by also winning the Chicago Marathon in a European record. After her second marathon she was immediately among the international top in the marathon. Now she is doing a stunt by combining the track with the road. A busy schedule with tough distances.
This is Sifan Hassan’s program at the Olympic Games
- Friday August 2nd at 6:10pm: 5000m series
- Monday August 5 at 21:10: 5000m final
- Friday August 9th at 20:50: 10,000m final
- Sunday August 11th at 8:00: Marathon
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