Can Sifan Hassan achieve one of the toughest Olympic triples in history at Paris 2024?

By adam addicott

Modified Jul 31, 2024 19:22 GMT

Is Sifan Hassan capable of doing something that no female athlete has ever done before at the Olympics? On Wednesday she confirmed her intention to take part in the marathon, as well as the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters at the 2024 Paris Games.

Not only does the Dutch athlete plan to run in these events, she aims to win gold in all of them. A task so rare that the only athlete to have ever achieved this was Emil Zatopek at the 1952 Helsinki Games. Impressively Hassan also qualified for the 1500m but that was a step too far.

"I decided to run the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon. I don’t want to run the 1500m," she said during a remote press conference on Wednesday. "It’s for my health and body, and very challenging for the mind. I would have to run almost every night, and it would be very hard to sleep."

"I’m really curious how it’s going to be possible to run the marathon after one day of rest. In every distance, I have to challenge the world record holder. My biggest goal is to finish the event. I don’t want to make myself crazy by focusing on gold. The medals will come later," she added.

Hassan was born in Ethiopia, but at the age of 15, her mother sent her on a plane to seek refuge in the Netherlands. She later received a refugee residence permit before obtaining a Dutch passport in 2013. Since then, she has broken national records by becoming the first Dutch medallist in 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships.

Undoubtedly, she is one of the best athletes in the world but does she have the ability to win the three longest running races at the Olympic Games? Taking into account the competition Hassan faces, as well as the hot weather conditions, it doesn't seem very likely. However, she has proved her doubters wrong in the past.

The 31-year-old has already won multiple medals at the same championships. In 2019 she won world championship gold in the 1500m and 10,000m. Two years later she triumphed in the 5000m and 10000m at the Tokyo Games. She also won bronze in the 1500m. More recently, she won another two medals at the 2023 World Championships, as well as finishing 11th in another event.

This will be the first time Hassan is participating in three events that also include the marathon. Her schedule in Paris will be the 5000m heats on August 2nd followed by the final three days later. Then it will be the 10,000m on August 9th and the marathon two days after that.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to recover, because I’m going to run the 10,000m and have less than 48 hours before the marathon. I’m very nervous," Sifan Hassan admitted.

“I am going to stress my brain and body for more than two hours (in the marathon), and the biggest challenge is to reduce my stress. I’m going to have massages, cool down, and I’m also going to focus on nutrition."

"Whatever you put in your gut will affect your brain and muscles. I have to consume a lot of carbohydrates - I don’tlike to consume too many, but I have to right now," she added.

Fitness will be key for Hassan and her bid but she points out her mentality will be just as significant.

“I am so crazy about the marathon and I think I will push myself harder than ever. I don’t think it will affect my marathon. If I think about that, it is going to destroy me mentally," Sifan Hassan explained.

"We are going to do it. We are here. We are not going to go backwards.”

In all three of the events Hassan is taking part in at the Paris Games, she is ranked in the world's top 10 in the official World Athletics ranking system. Her highest position is second in the marathon.

Hassan's determination to run these three races is incredible but winning three golds is likely to be a challenge too tough. In the 10,000 meters, she will be up against Beatrice Chebet, who broke the world record just two months ago. Meanwhile, in the marathon, she faces world record-holder Tigist Assefa, as well as defending champion Peres Jepchirchir.

Should she not achieve the triple, it shouldn't be viewed as a failure in any way. The fact Hassan has qualified for four Olympic events and is competing in three of them is a testament to her ability as an athlete.

But the hat-trick of titles seems like a step too far. Then again, Hassan does tend to excel when the odds are against her.

Hassan's personal bests vs Season bests

• Marathon - PB 2:13:44, SB 2:18:05
• 10,000 Metres - PB 29:06.82, SB N/A (No races so far in 2024)
• 5000 Metres - 14:13.42, SB 14:34.38
• 1500 Metres - PB 3:51.95, SB 4:04.83