Athlete Sifan Hassan will make her long-awaited debut in the London marathon on April 23. She has accepted an invitation from the organization of one of the largest running events in the world.
The Dutch two-time Olympic champion sees the race over 42.195 kilometers in the English capital mainly as a test. If she likes it, it is an option for her to run the marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“I am still considering what I will do at the Paris Games. Both the track and the marathon are possible,” she says ahead of the race in London. “Before I can make a final decision, I have to first test on the marathon. I need to know if I’m good at it. The best place is then London, a competition with the strongest female marathon runners in the world.”
The 30-year-old Hassan has already celebrated great successes on the track, with highlights being the world titles in 2019 in the 1500 and 10,000 meters and the Olympic titles in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Her counter stands at seventeen medals in international championships.
Immediately after her second gold medal in Tokyo, Hassan announced that the marathon would be her next goal. “I like things that hurt. I want to see what I can do and how much pain I can handle,” she said at the time. Now the time has come for her to experience it.
Not a permanent switch
Hassan emphasizes that she is not making a permanent switch to the road. “It’s always been my intention to run a marathon one day, but that doesn’t mean I’m retiring from the track. I’m planning a track season for this summer, but right now I’m ecstatic about my marathon debut. It’s in many In some ways a step into the unknown for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
Hassan has so far proven that she can run at almost all distances. She holds, among other things, the world record for the English mile, the European records for 1500, 3000, 5000, 10,000 meters and half marathon and also holds the world hour record.
Hassan experienced last season that she should not rely solely on her talent. She took a long vacation after the Tokyo Games to catch her breath, but started training too late to get in shape for the summer season. The result was a disappointing World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where she failed to win any medals.
Source: ANP
