Sifan Hassan - Athletics Marathon - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 16 - Source: Getty

"Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000m and 10,000m"- Sifan Hassan weighs in on winning the marathon at Paris Olympics

Modified Aug 11, 2024 12:15 GMT

Sifan Hassan won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics and said that there were moments during the race, where she regretted competing in the 5,000 and 10,000m. It was the third Olympic medal for the Ethiopian-born Dutch long-distance runner at the quadrennial games held in the French Capital.

Hassan announced that she would be running in four events - 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, and the marathon at the Paris Olympics. However, before the Olympics, the Dutch athlete decided to withdraw from the 1500m to focus on defending her titles in the 5000 and 10,000m, as well as competing in the marathon.

Hassan went on to win the bronze medal in both the 5000 and 10,000m events. She showcased great determination and grit while competing in the marathon which was a neck-biting competition till the final moments of the race. Sifan Hassan took the lead as she got on the blue carpet in the final stretch of the race to win the Olympic gold medal with a time of 2:22:55 and set a new Olympic record.

She spoke about her performance in an interview and talked about feeling the impact of running the 5000m and 10,000m while competing in her final event of the quadrennial games. Hassan said (via "AthleticsWeekly" on X):

"I have no words. Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today," she said.

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Ethipioa's Tigst Assefa won the silver medal with a time of 2:22:58 and Kenya's Hellen Obiri took home the bronze medal after clocking 2:23:10. The race was one of the most thrilling events of the Olympics, marking the end of the running events at the 2024 Games.

Sifan Hassan on participating in three events at the Paris Olympics

Sifan Hassan - Athletics Marathon - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 16 - Source: Getty

Sifan Hassan expressed her excitement about competing in three events at the Paris Olympics and going head to head against the world record holder in each event in a quest for the pinnacle crown.

“I’m happy to be running against these athletes and I can’t say I will get gold medals in all events as I have to face a world record holder in every event. My biggest goal is to complete the event, rather than the medal. I don’t want to make myself crazy by focusing on gold, the medals will come later," she said. (as quoted by nation.africa)

Hassan concluded her Paris Olympic campaign with three medals taking her overall career Olympic medal count to six, which included three gold medals and three bronze medals.