Sifan Hassan (; born January 1993 in Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian-Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.
At the World Athletics Championships, Hassan took 1,500 m and 10,000 m titles in 2019, becoming the only athlete (male or female) in history to win both events at a single World Championships or Olympic Games. She won a bronze at the 1500 m in 2015, and at the 5000 m in 2017, when she also finished fifth in the 1,500 m. Hassan is a three-time World Indoor Championships medallist, winning gold at 1500 m in 2016 as well as silver at 3000 m and bronze for 1500 m in 2018. She earned six European medals (including two cross country titles), and one European indoor medal. She is also a three-time Diamond League winner, having secured the 1500 m/5000 m double in 2019. In her debut over the classic 26.2-mile distance, she won the 2023 London Marathon.
Hassan has been the world record holder for the one hour run since 2020. She held the world record for the one mile on the track from July 2019 to July 2023, when Faith Kipyegon overtook it. She held a world record at 10,000 m for two days in June 2021. She holds six European records (1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m, half marathon, marathon) and three other Dutch records.
Early life Hassan was born in Adama, Oromia, Ethiopia and raised in the countryside of Kersa in the Munesa district of the Arsi Zone of Oromia.Brink, Cors Van den (24 November 2013). Een Edammertje voor de atlete uit Nazareth . Atletiek Week. Retrieved on 22 February 2014. She was a recreational runner there. She left her home country as a refugee and arrived in the Netherlands in 2008 at age 15. She began running while undertaking studies to become a nurse. She is an Arsi Oromo.
Hassan became a Dutch citizen in 2013.
Career
2011–2012
She got her first spikes and kit from Yke Schouwstra. After she moved to Eindhoven, she met Ton van Hoesel who coached her for two years. In Arnhem, Hassan became a member of the Papendal national training centre for top athletes. She received her Dutch citizenship in 2013. Affiliated with Eindhoven Atletiek, Hassan entered the Eindhoven half marathon in 2011 and won the race with a time of 77:10 minutes. She was also runner-up at two cross country races (Sylvestercross and Mol Lotto Cross Cup). She won those races in 2012, as well as the 3000 m at the Leiden Gouden Spike meet.
2013–2014
Hassan made her breakthrough in the 2013 season. She ran an 800 metres best of 2:00.86 minutes to win at the KBC Night of Athletics and took wins in the 1500 m at the Nijmegen Global Athletics and Golden Spike Ostrava meets. On the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit she was runner-up in the 1500 m at Athletissima with a personal best of 4:03.73 minutes and was third at the DN Galan 3000 m with a best of 8:32.53 minutes—this time ranked her the fourth-fastest runner in the world that year.
Hassan became a Dutch citizen in November 2013, too late for competing at the 2013 World Championships, and the following month she made her first appearance for the Netherlands. At the 2013 European Cross Country Championships she won the gold medal in the under-23 category on a 6 km course in a time of 19:40 ahead of Amela Terzic and helped the Dutch team to third in the rankings. She also won the Warandeloop and Lotto Cross Cup Brussels races that winter.
At the beginning of 2014 she ran a world-leading time of 8:45.32 minutes for the 3000 m at the Weltklasse in Karlsruhe, then broke the Dutch indoor record in the 1500 m with a time of 4:05.34 minutes at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix. She ran her first sub-4 minute 1500 m in finishing fifth at the Prefontaine Classic in a time of 3:59.38. On 5 July, Hassan won the 1500 m at the Paris Diamond League and set another new personal best of 3:57.00. She followed it by winning at the Glasgow Grand Prix, holding off Abeba Aregawi. At the 2014 European Championships, Hassan won gold in the 1500 m and silver in the 5000 m. She ended her season by winning at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup.
2015
Hassan won gold in the 1500 m at the 2015 European Indoor Athletics Championships in Prague. She ran a new 1500 m national record of 3:56.05 at the Monaco Diamond League, she finished second behind Genzebe Dibaba who set a new world record. At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Hassan won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres, also making the semi-finals of the 800 m. She became the second female Dutch athlete ever to win a medal at the World Championships, after Dafne Schippers. She won gold in the senior race at the European Cross Country Championships. She was the third female Dutch winner in the event, following in the footsteps of fellow African migrants Hilda Kibet and Lornah Kiplagat.Hassan and Kaya victorious at European Cross Country Championships . IAAF (13 December 2015). Retrieved on 13 December 2015.
2016–2017
Hassan won gold in the 1500 m at the World Indoor Championships. She took silver in the same event in a slow, tactical race at the European Championships. She won her heat in the 1500 m in the 2016 Rio Olympics in 4:06.64 before Faith Kipyegon. In the semifinals she placed second in 4:03.62 after Genzebe Dibaba who won in 4:03.06. In the final Kipyegon took the Olympic gold medal with 4:08.92, Dibaba was the runner up with 4:10.27 and Jennifer Simpson took the bronze medal in 4:10.53. Hassan placed fifth in a time of 4:11.23.
She finished fifth in the 1500 m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships and won the bronze medal in the 5000 metres event.
2018 On 13 July, she broke the European record for 5000 metres by finishing second at the Rabat Diamond League in 14:22.34.IAAF Diamond League 2018 Rabat results Retrieved on 13 July 2018. A few days later, Hassan won the first Millicent Fawcett Mile at the 2018 London Anniversary Games in a time of 4:14.71, the fourth-fastest result at the time.
At the 2018 European Championships, she won a gold medal in the 5000 m with the time 14:46:12, setting a new championships record.
On 16 September, she broke the European record for the half marathon with a time of 65:15, winning the Copenhagen Half Marathon.European Athletics website Retrieved on 2 October 2018.
2019 On 17 February, Hassan set the world record for a 5 km road race stopping the clock at 14:44 in Monaco. It has since been broken, first by Beatrice Chepkoech, then by Ejgayehu Taye. The 5 km road race has been a world record event since 1 November 2017. At the Prefontaine Classic in June, she broke the European 3000 m record with a time of 8:18.49.
Mile world record
On 12 July, Hassan entered the mile run at the Herculis meet in Fontvieille, Monaco. Olha Lyakhova was the pace setter, taking the field through the first two laps (measured at the start line, not the quarter-mile splits) in 64.26 and 63.94 (2:08.20). As is typical for Hassan, she was last off the start line, but over the next 150 metres, slowly eased herself around the field on the outside into the marking position behind Lyakhova. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford soon moved through the field in between Hassan and Lyakhova for the next lap before Hassan and Gudaf Tsegay separated from the field as the only chasers. Between 800 and 1000 metres, Lyakhova strained to keep on pace, but Hassan and Tsegay were moving forward. After Lyakhova stepped out, the two found themselves 15 metres ahead of the pack. At 1200 metres, Hassan was looking back at her close chaser Tsegay in 3:10.13 (a 61.93 lap). Hassan accelerated, opening a 5-metre gap over the next 100 metres. Continuing at this pace, she passed 1500 metres in about 3:55. Hassan covered the last 409.344 metres in 62.20, her final time of 4:12:33 breaking Svetlana Masterkova's almost 23-year-old world record. The athletes trailing Hassan rewrote the all-time top 25 list, with Laura Weightman moving into position #15, DeBues-Stafford into #17, and after #5 all-time Tsegay faded into the pack she was followed by Rababe Arafi, Axumawit Embaye, Winnie Nanyondo and Ciara Mageean moving into positions #20–23.
She was the double 2019 Diamond League champion, winning both the 1500 and 5000 metres Trophies.
On 28 September, she became the 2019 World Champion in the 10,000 metres in her second race for that distance. Her first race at the event was in Stanford in a time of 31:18.12, just fast enough to achieve the qualifying standard for the World Championships. The winning time of 30:17.62 was the best time of the year on the track. Alina Reh (Germany) led the field after 3000 m in 9:29.69. The front runner reached the halfway point in 15:32.70. Letesenbet Gidey finished in 30:21.23, with Agnes Tirop (Kenya) coming in third place in 30:25.50. The second half of the run was covered in 14:45. Hassan also won the 1500 metres race with a time of 3:51.95 (sixth place on the 1500 m all-time list), setting new championship and European records. The second-placed finisher was Faith Kipyegon in 3:54.22, a new Kenyan national record, and the third place went to Gudaf Tsegay with 3:54.38.
2020–2021 On 4 September 2020, Hassan set a new world record for the rarely run One hour run completing 18,930 metres at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels.
On 10 October, Hassan set a European record for the women's 10,000 metres in a time of 29:36.67, breaking the best set by Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe in 2002 by more than 24 seconds.
On 6 June 2021, she bettered her performance at the event to set a world record of 29:06.82 in Hengelo, beating the 2016 record of Ethiopian Almaz Ayana by more than 10 seconds. Hassan lost the record two days later, however, when Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey achieved a time of 29:01.03 at the same stadium. On 10 June, Hassan won the 1500 metres at the Rome Diamond League in a then world-leading time of 3:53.63. She then finished second at the Monaco Diamond League in a time of 3:53.60, finishing behind Faith Kipyegon who ran a new national record of 3:51.07.
Hassan won gold in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also won bronze in the 1500 metres. In her 1500 m, Hassan fell at the start of the final lap over Edinah Jebitok (Kenya). She still won the run. She became the only athlete ever to medal in the 1500, 5000, and 10,000 metres events at the same Olympics. Her 5000 m winning time was 14:36.79, ahead of Hellen Obiri from Kenya with 14:38.36, while Gudaf Tsegay won a bronze medal with a time of 14:38.87. Her gold medal win made her the first Dutch woman with an Olympic athletics medal in a long-distance event. Herr winning time in the 10000 m run was 29:55.32, Kalkidan Gezahegne (Bahrain) placed second in a time of 29:56.18 and Letensenbet Gidey (Ethiopia) placed third with 30:01.72. She was the first non-Kenyan or Ethiopian athlete to win the event since Gabriela Szabo won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She carried the flag of the Netherlands in the Olympics closing ceremony.
2022