Sifan Hassan, the queen of businesses: from the viral fall at Tokyo 2020 to the resounding triumph at the London Marathon

Sifan Hassan was the main protagonist of the 43rd edition of the london marathon. The 30-year-old Dutch made an extraordinary debut over that distance, winning in a race in which she defied injuries that threatened to force her to retire and was even on the verge of being hit by a speeding motorcycle three kilometers from the final. Her victory had such an impact that she managed to overshadow, for example, the victory in the men’s category of the Kenyan kelvin kiptumwith the record of the test (and only 16 seconds from the world record), and the last performance of the career of the legendary Briton Mo Farahwho retired after finishing ninth.

“I was born for drama”joked Hassan, a two-time Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020after his incredible victory, with which he wrote another chapter of a career and a life marked by sacrifices and hard work, but also by enormous joys and historic achievements, some almost as surprising as the one achieved in the English capital.

Born in Ethiopia On 1 January 1993, he spent his childhood in Kersa, a town located in the south-east of that country, where he lived with his mother and grandmother and started running, even if not competitively. In 2008, at the age of 15, she achieved Holland as a refugee and settled in Eindhoven.

He never wanted to say why he left his country. “I have to look forward. There are days when I’m happy, others when I’m not so happy,” she once commented when asked about that phase of her life.

Her goal in those early years in her new country was to qualify as a nurse, but she soon discovered her natural talent for athletics and changed course. Her great motivation at work attracted the attention of the coach Honor Hoedtwho started training her in 2012 and had a first important challenge: teaching her to master her character.

“At first she couldn’t take losing and when she lost she locked herself away for days. Competition lights a fire within her, but it didn’t always explode in the right direction,” said the trainer some years ago.

Hassan has learned and matured. In 2015 he received Dutch nationality and started competing under that flag. And he ended up becoming a world star. After adding the bronzes in the world Beijing 2015 (in 1,500 meters) e London 2017 (5 thousand), gave his first big twist in the appointment of Doha 2019.

On the Qatar track she won gold in the 1,500m and 10,000m and became the first woman to win those two events in world championship history. Her brace still had its share of controversy, as Sifan had arrived in Doha as one of the athletes of the Nike Oregon Projectunder the guardianship of Alberto Salazar. And shortly after his win over the longest distance, his coach was banned for four years by the US Anti-Doping Agency for “inciting” doping (in 2020 he was banned for life after being accused of sexual abuse).

“This investigation concerns the period before I joined the team and is not connected to me. I was aware of the investigation when I chose to join the group. And there I was always able to train with a clear conscience,” he defended ‘Dutch, who despite the storm that had unleashed around him, then got his second gold in Doha.

With his favorite dish and world records of 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 (among others) in his possession, he arrived in Tokyo to contest the 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. And in the Japanese capital he made history. In a big way and overcoming a few other adversities, one that he seems to be used to.

At those Games, she became the first athlete – male or female – to win medals in the 1,500m (bronze), 5,000m and 10m (gold) at the same edition of an Olympic event. She and she the first to get three podium finishes in individual races since 1988, when Carl Lewis AND Heike Drechsler they did so in the 100m and 200m dash and the long jump.

Making her triple podium even more surprising was the exceptional comeback staged in the qualifying heat of 1,500 meters, when she collided with the Kenyan 400 meters from the finish Edinah Jebitok, fell and was penultimate. But he got up, completed the last lap of the stadium in just 61 seconds and crossed the finish line first in 4’05’17 to advance to the semi-final, which he also won.

In the final he didn’t succeed with the Kenyan Faith Kipyegon and the British Laura Muirwhich he accompanied to the podium, but that final sprint in his heat – which was the pinnacle of a sprinter – will forever remain one of the more memorable moments of those Games.

“With hardship will come relief,” says a line from the Koranthe sacred text of Muslims, which Hassan chose as his favorite phrase in an interview with the Dutch newspaper NRC extensionafter his big performance in Tokyo.

Those words surely helped her get up after the disappointment that the Eugene’s worldlast year, to which she had finished favorite for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and from which she started empty-handed.

“After Tokyo I had collapsed mentally, I didn’t even care about running. I took a break for almost 8 months. I started training two months ago and did what I could,” Hassan said, trying to explain why his poor performance, a fourth place in the longest race and a sixth place in the shortest distance. Although he also assured: “This year I took it as a break. The podium has never been my goal here.”

A few months later Eugene said with surprise that he did not rule out the possibility of aiming for the marathon for the Paris Games. “I have in mind to run that test. I think about it every night and every day when running.Paris 2024? Why not?” she commented in the preview of the diamond alloy Zurich in September.

An unbeatable debut

With next year’s French event in mind, Hassan put on his shoes and stalled at the start of the London Marathon. After his triumph he acknowledged that in the hours before the start, he thought he was about to make a mistake.

“When I woke up I was telling myself I was stupid for running a marathon. I was so scared I even cried. And when I spoke to my manager I asked him ‘Why am I doing this?’“, assured the Dutchman. “In no way did I think I could win. But I needed to gain experience for the next marathon.”

His fears were not unfounded. After an hour of running, she was forced to slow down due to left hip discomfort and He also had to stop twice to stretch. He was 28 seconds behind the leading group with just over 17 kilometers to go. But he was coming back and he came back to fight.

At kilometer 39, his chances were under control again. It’s that she stopped to cross the other side of the street to get a drink and was almost hit by one of the competing motorcycles. The scare didn’t affect her, she picked up the pace and, after a remarkable final sprint, she ended up celebrating an unexpected victory.

“It’s just amazing, I can’t believe I won a marathon. Not even that, I can’t believe I finished it. I’ll never forget it.”assured Hassan, the queen of the slopes who made her marathon debut in style, with a consecration full of emotion, tension and overcoming, like her own life.