By Chris Chavez
June 4, 2023
Olympic champion Sifan Hassan returned to the track less than six weeks after winning the London Marathon to run a world-leading 29:37.80 for the 10,000m at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands on Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Her winning time is the seventh-fastest performance in history. Hassan now owns three of the top seven all-time women’s 10,000m runs.
– 19-year-old Kenyan Grace Loibach Nawowuna ran 29:47.42 in her 10,000m debut to finish second in the race. She is now No. 8 on the all-time women's 10,000m list.
– At the Tokyo Olympics, Hassan attempted to win gold in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m. She came away with victories in the 5000m and 10,000m and a bronze medal in the 1500m. At last summer’s world championships, Hassan finished sixth in the 5000m and fourth in the 10,000 meters.
– After the race, she ruled out running the marathon at the world championships but plans to run the 10,000 meters and either the 1500m or 5,000m. She won gold in the 10,000m and 1500m at the 2019 world championships.
What she said afterward:
“I’m going to see what I’m going to run,” Sifan Hassan told Cathal Dennehy of World Athletics after the race. “I know I’m going to run 10,000m. I love 10,000 meters. I would always doubt when I race but it always turns out beautiful. I’m going to see about the 5000m. I always have a harder time with the 1500m and 5000m.”
What happens next:
– Hassan will run the 1500m in Hengelo on Sunday, where she hopes to run under four minutes. It is her first 1500m since finishing second at the 2019 Diamond League final in Zurich.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.