Remarkable climax in closing athletics event at the Olympics sees Dutchwoman complete medal hat-trick after physical tussle with Tigist Assefa
A beautiful backdrop. Crowds packing the streets. A remarkable race that saw the world’s best matching each other stride for stride and came down to a sprint finish. Two athletes almost literally trading blows in the final metres. The victor completing a haul of three medals that defies logic.
The women’s marathon on Sunday really did provide a fitting end to what has been a super athletics schedule at the Paris Olympics.
Given a schedule that also included the 5000m and 10,000m, the fact that it was Sifan Hassan who came out on top was simultaneously jaw-dropping yet not at all surprising.
The Dutchwoman, who contested the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m in Tokyo three years ago, has a habit of ripping up the rulebook and giving herself the most ludicrous of workloads at major championships.
And, having won bronze medals in both of her track assignments in Paris, the 31-year-old deployed the speed that has made her a world 1500m champion in the past to burst clear of world record-holder Tigist Assefa, stretching away on the blue finishing carpet to break the Olympic record with 2:22:55.
The pair even clashed elbows with around 150m to go, Assefa appearing to try and block her opponent. Hassan got through, though, and although the Ethiopian team lodged a protest to have Hassan disqualified for obstruction, it was thrown out by the Jury of Appeal.
Assefa hinted that the clash may have cost her the title but had to settle for silver with 2:22:58, while another former track world champion, Hellen Obiri, clocked a PB of 2:23.10 to take bronze. Her fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi (2:23:14) was fourth which Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso Shankule completed the top five with 2:23:57.
(Getty)
As was in evidence during her London Marathon win last year, Hassan can be a quite brilliant road runner but an erratic one as well and she admitted to having berated herself during Sunday’s Olympic race.
“Every moment I was regretting that I had run the 5000m and 10,000m,” she said. “I was telling myself: ‘If I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today’.
“From the beginning to the end, it was so hard. Every step of the way I was thinking: ‘Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?’.
“The moment I started to feel good was at 20km, I felt so good. Then I knew I wanted gold. But everybody else was fresh and all I was thinking was, ‘When are they going to break? They’re going to go hard, they’re going to go hard’.”
At that 20km point, Hassan had been sat in 15th and part of a pack that was sitting just a handful of seconds behind the lead group that was headed by Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, defending champion Peres Jepchirchir, Assefa and Obiri.
A little further along the road, Australia’s Jessica Stenson had moved up to take the field through halfway in 73:22, just ahead of French athlete Mélody Julien who was clearly letting the excitement of a home Olympic marathon get to her.
As the race advanced along the challenging course, however, the group of medal challengers began to be whittled away.
With 2km to go, it was down to five, with Lokedi, Shankule, Obiri, Assfa and Hassan all keeping a watchful eye on another and waiting to see who would strike first.
It was Obiri who played her hand and pushed the pace, with Shankule soon dropped and then Lokedi struggling to stay with the pace. With the identity of the podium now settled, the big question centred around who would fill which places.
With the spectacular finishing line at Les Invalides waiting, Obiri couldn’t hang on and Assefa and Hassan were left to duke it out for gold. Assefa is a former 800m runner and is no slouch but, as she did in London, Hassan found that extra gear to put her in the clear and complete her mission.
With a 5000m heat and final, the 10,000m final and the marathon – Hassan has covered 62km in Paris and that’s not taking into account the recovery and tune-up runs involved between each race.
“I feel like I am dreaming,” she said. “I only see people on the TV who are Olympic champions. When I finished, the whole moment was a release. It is unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like that. Even the other marathons I have run were not close to this.
“When I finished, I couldn’t stop celebrating. I was feeling dizzy. I wanted to lie down. Then I thought, ‘I am the Olympic champion. How is this possible?’”
“I was scared of this race. I have so many emotions. Every step I challenged myself, and now I am so grateful I didn’t push myself too much on the track.
“At the end I thought, ‘This is just a 100m sprint. Come on, Sifan. One more. Just feel it, like someone who sprints 200m’.”
Of the British trio competing, Clara Evans came home fastest in 2:33:01, Rose Harvey having a tough day but refusing to give up as she clocked 2:51.03, and Calli Hauger-Thackery withdrawing around 30km in.
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