Sifan Hassan’s endurance gamble at the Paris Games finally paid off after she sprinted away for Olympic marathon gold in the French capital on Sunday.
The Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete came into the marathon on the back of two bronze medals won in the 5,000m and 10,000m in an astonishing bid for podium placings in three events.
And Hassan did not disappoint, holding off Ethiopian Tigst Assefa for victory in an Olympic record of 2hr 22min 55sec.
It mirrored Hassan’s efforts in the Covid-hit Tokyo Games three years ago when she also won three medals: two golds (5,000, 10,000m) and a bronze (1500m).
Assefa took silver in 2:22.58, with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri claiming bronze (2:23.10).
“It was not easy,” said Hassan.
“It was so hot, but I was feeling OK. I’ve never pushed myself through to the finish line as I did today.”
Hassan, who won the 2023 London Marathon on her debut at the distance and then produced the second best time ever in winning the Chicago Marathon in October in 2:13.44, said the Olympic gold was a crowning glory.
“I was so happy in the London Marathon, but today I’m more happy, I can’t believe I’m Olympic marathon champion!” she said.
The 42km-long marathon course headed out of central Paris on a loop to Versailles, mimicking a key moment from the French Revolution: the Women’s March on Versailles, on October 5, 1789 which led to French King Louis XVI finally agreeing to ratify the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The route included a 436m climb and 438m descent. The maximum gradient on the route was 13.5 percent.
The 31-year-old Hassan suffered on the gruelling ascent at the 1:38 mark and it looked like that might have been it for her bid for a historic treble.
But Hassan is nothing if not a doughty competitor and she quickly reeled in the lead group on the perilous descent.
Assefa and teammate Amane Beriso Shankule pushed on.
The Kenyan trio of Sharon Lokedi, defending champion Peres Jepchirchir and Obiri stuck with the two Ethiopians as they went through 30km in 1:43.59.
Hassan was toe-to-toe with the east Africans and at the 33km mark, the pack was down to five, Jepchirchir dropped.
Shankule also faded with 2km to run, leaving a gang of four for three podium places.
Like a sprint stage of the Tour de France, the quartet came into the last kilometre sizing each other up, Obiri surging, eyes flicking left and right, all four ready to react at the slightest acceleration.
Hassan probed as the winding finale to Invalides continued, Lokedi failing to match the pace.
And then there were three: Hassan, Assefa and Obiri.
Assefa launched one last attack, dropping Obiri.
It came down to Hassan v Assefa. The Dutch athlete surged around one corner, actually clashing with the Ethiopian.
The pair regained their rhythm and Hassan delivered a perfect sprint finish for a memorable gold.
IOC PRESIDENT STANDS DOWN
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said at the Paris Games on Saturday he will not seek to remain in charge for a third term.
“New times are calling for new leaders,” the 70-year-old German lawyer, who has led the Olympic movement since 2013, told a session of IOC members in the French capital.
Bach said he was asked to stay in his role but insisted he would not attempt to extend his mandate by changing the Olympic charter that limits the president to a maximum of 12 years in the role.
“I know with this decision I am disappointing many of you … but it is in the best interests of our beloved Olympic movement,” he told the IOC delegates.
His successor will be elected during the IOC’s 143rd session in Greece on March 18-21, 2025 and will take office the following June.
The jostling to succeed Bach will now begin, with some well-informed IOC watchers tipping Zimbabwean former swimmer Kirsty Coventry, 40, for the role.
Nicole Hoevertsz, a 60-year-old former synchronised swimmer and IOC vice-president from Aruba, has also been cited as a possible contender along with World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, a British two-time Olympic gold medallist over 1500m.
It is understood that Prince Feisal of Jordan, who is an IOC Executive Board member, will also be a candidate.
Bach, who won gold for West Germany in the foil fencing team event at the 1976 Olympics, was elected an IOC member at the age of 37 and went on to play a series of influential roles within the organisation, notably as a founding member of the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, before taking over from Jacques Rogge.
When he was elected in 2013, the Bavarian claimed to embody the renewal of Olympism – in particular with less expensive and more environmentally friendly Games – with the slogan “change or be changed”.
“This mantra also applies to myself,” he said, before pausing for a few moments, with tears in his eyes.
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Bach has repeatedly voiced his opposition to sports boycotts, attempting to establish a watertight boundary between political conflicts and the Olympics.
The next president will be able to prepare for the future with peace of mind with the summer and Winter Olympic Games awarded until 2034. And Bach said there was “significant” interest from potential bidders for the 2036 and 2040 editions.
Source Agencies
