Sifan Hassan today in Paris not only won the gold medal in the marathon, but also broke the Olympic record with a time of 2:22:55. The fact that the Dutchwoman competed on the track in the 10,000 m distance on Saturday evening adds an extra spice. The Polish women took distant places. Aleksandra Lisowska was thirty-sixth, and Angelika Mach sixty-fourth.
Today’s race in Paris provided the fans with many emotions and kept them in suspense from the beginning to the very end. The route, similarly to yesterday’s men’s competition, was run on a loop from the Hôtel de Ville to the Palace of Versailles and back. It was very technically demanding and abounded in many uphill sections, especially at 20 and 27 km. Despite this, Olympic records were broken yesterday and today.
A group to the finish line
After 25 km, a five-person group formed, including the Kenyans Sharon Lokedi and Hellen Obiri, the Ethiopians Amane Beriso Shankule and the marathon world record holder Tigst Assefa (2:11:45) and the Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan. At this stage, the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, who was defending the title of Olympic champion won three years ago in Tokyo, lost contact with the leaders.
fot. Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics
Sprinting for a medal
The Dutchwoman jumped out from behind the world record holder on a bend. The two competitors made contact and almost crashed into the barriers. After getting ahead of the Ethiopian, Hassan showed off her sprinting talent and sped to the finish line, glancing nervously over her shoulder before raising her arms in triumph, winning the coveted gold. She stopped the clock at 2:22:55, a new Olympic record. The previous one was 2:23:07, set in London in 2012.
Hassan, 31, emigrated to the Netherlands from Ethiopia when she was 15. Since last year, she has combined her track career with marathons. In her debut at this distance in the spring of 2023, she won the prestigious London Marathon in 2:18:33, which was not hindered by two stops along the route related to hip stretching, as well as the Ramadan period, which meant restrictions on food and drink. In the fall, she added a victory in Chicago in 2:13:44, the second best result on the all-time list.
Today’s gold in the marathon is the third medal won by Sifan Hassan at the Paris Games after the two bronze medals she won on the track in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m. In both distances, the Dutchwoman was defending her title as Olympic champion from Tokyo.
fot. Christel Saneh for World Athletics
Second place went to Tigist Assefa with a time of 2:22:58, and third to Hellen Obiri (2:23:10). Sharon Lokedi (2:23:14) came in just off the podium. The Japanese Yuka Suzuki competed very ambitiously on the Olympic marathon course, finishing in fifth place and a personal best of 2:24:02.
Polish women far away
The Polish women were further down the line from the start. After ten kilometres they were classified in 74th (Aleksandra Lisowska) and 75th (Angelika Mach). At the halfway point Lisowska moved up to 60th place and ran at a time pace of around 2:31:00. Mach was slightly slower.
photo by Łukasz Szeląg
This situation continued throughout the rest of the competition. Ultimately, Aleksandra Lisowska finished with her best time of the season – 2:31:10 – in thirty-sixth place. Angelika Mach finished sixty-fourth. She achieved a time of 2:37:56.
photo by Łukasz Szeląg
The Polish track and field team finished the Paris Games with a bronze medal for Natalia Kaczmarek. The next global test for track and field athletes will be in September next year – the world championships will be held in Tokyo then. During the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in Los Angeles – in the summer of 2028 – track and field will be held in the first week of competition.
network, PZLA
header photo Christel Saneh for World Athletics
