Sifan Hassan Misses Out on Gold Again at the 2024 Olympics

Sifan Hassan Misses Out on Gold Again at the 2024 Olympics

After winning bronze in the 5000m, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan was unable to upgrade her medal color, finishing third in the women’s 10,000m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

During the final at Stade de France on August 9, Hassan employed a strategy of drafting behind the leaders. She remained behind the group of seven frontrunners until the 8000-meter mark.

It wasn’t until the final 1000 meters, signaled by the bell, that the Dutch runner picked up the pace. However, her acceleration was only enough to secure third place, finishing with a time of 30 minutes 44.12 seconds. Ahead of Hassan were Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, who took gold with a time of 30 minutes 43.25 seconds, and Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, who claimed silver with a time of 30 minutes 43.35 seconds. This result means Hassan has yet to clinch a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and has failed to defend her titles in both the 10,000m and 5000m events from Tokyo 2020. In the 5000m final on August 5, Hassan also finished third with a time of 14 minutes 30.61 seconds, behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and champion Beatrice Chebet.

Hassan originally planned to compete in four events: the 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, and marathon at Paris 2024, making her the first athlete in history to qualify for all four events in a single Olympic Games. However, upon arriving in Paris, the 31-year-old Dutch runner decided to withdraw from the 1500m and focus on the remaining three events. At the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Hassan competed in three events, winning gold in the 5000m and 10,000m, and bronze in the 1500m, becoming the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals in both middle and long-distance events in a single Games. She is also only the second woman in history to win both the 5000m and 10,000m at the Olympics.

After the 10,000m final yesterday, Hassan will have 34 hours to rest before competing in her final event, the marathon, on August 11. “I’m happy to have completed the first two distances so I can recover and focus on the marathon,” she said.

Hassan has the potential to become the first athlete since the late Czech legend Emil Zatopek to win medals in the 5000m, 10,000m, and marathon in a single Olympic Games. Zatopek famously won all three events at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s victory allowed Chebet to complete the double of gold medals in the 10,000m and 5000m. She is the first Kenyan athlete to win two gold medals in athletics at a single Olympic Games, and also the first Kenyan woman to win the 10,000m gold since the event was introduced at the Seoul 1988 Olympics.

These are the most significant achievements in Chebet’s career. Prior to Paris 2024, the Kenyan runner won silver in the 5000m at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022, bronze in Budapest in 2023, and claimed the Diamond League title in 2022. Chebet currently holds the world record for the women’s 10,000m with a time of 28 minutes 54.14 seconds, set at the Prefontaine Classic on May 25, 2024. She is the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier in this distance.