Sifan Hassan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sifan Hassan

Hassan at the 2023 Chicago Marathon
Personal information
Nationality	Dutch
Born	(1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 32) Adama, Oromia, Ethiopia
Employer	Nike
Height	1.70 m
Weight	49 kg
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Middle-, long-distance running
Coached by	Tim Rowberry
Achievements and titles
World finals	2015 Beijing 800 m, sf (9th) 1500 m, 3 Bronze 2017 London 1500 m, 5th 5000 m, 3 Bronze 2019 Doha 1500 m, 1 Gold 10,000 m, 1 Gold 2022 Eugene 5000 m, 6th 10,000 m, 4th 2023 Budapest 1500 m, 3 Bronze 5000 m, 2 Silver 10,000 m, 11th
Olympic finals	2016 Rio de Janeiro 800 m, h (21st) 1500 m, 5th 2020 Tokyo 1500 m, 3 Bronze 5000 m, 1 Gold 10,000 m, 1 Gold 2024 Paris 5000 m, 3 Bronze 10,000 m, 3 Bronze Marathon, 1 Gold
Highest world ranking	No. 1 (overall, 2019) No. 1 (1500 m, 2019) No. 1 (5000 m, 2019) No. 1 (10,000 m, 2019) No. 1 (road running, 2019) No. 2 (marathon, 2024)
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:56.81 (2017) 1500 m: 3:51.95 (2019, AR) Mile: 4:12.33 (2019, AR) 3000 m: 8:18.49 (2019, AR) 5000 m: 14:13.42 (2023, AR) 10,000 m: 29:06.82 (2021, AR) Indoors 1500 m: 4:00.46 i (2015, NR) Mile: 4:19.89 i (2017, NR) 3000 m: 8:30.74 i (2017, NR) Road 5 km: 14:44 (2019, AR) Half marathon: 1:05:15 (2018, AR) Marathon: 2:13:44 (2023, AR)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing the  Netherlands Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo 5000 m Gold 2020 Tokyo 10,000 m Gold 2024 Paris Marathon Bronze 2020 Tokyo 1500 m Bronze 2024 Paris 5000 m Bronze 2024 Paris 10,000 m World Championships Gold 2019 Doha 1500 m Gold 2019 Doha 10,000 m Silver 2023 Budapest 5000 m Bronze 2015 Beijing 1500 m Bronze 2017 London 5000 m Bronze 2023 Budapest 1500 m World Indoor Championships Gold 2016 Portland 1500 m Silver 2018 Birmingham 3000 m Bronze 2018 Birmingham 1500 m Diamond League 2015 1500 m 2019 1500 m 2019 5000 m European Championships Gold 2014 Zürich 1500 m Gold 2018 Berlin 5000 m Silver 2014 Zürich 5000 m Silver 2016 Amsterdam 1500 m European Indoor Championships Gold 2015 Prague 1500 m European Cross Country Championships Gold 2013 Belgrad U23 race Gold 2015 Hyères Senior race Continental Cup Representing Europe Gold 2014 Marrakech 1500 m Gold 2018 Ostrava 3000 m World Marathon Majors Gold 2023 London Marathon Gold 2023 Chicago Marathon

Sifan Hassan (born January 1993 in Ethiopia) is a Dutch runner. She is famous for being great at many different running distances. She runs both middle-distance (like 1,500 meters) and long-distance races (like 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and marathons).

Sifan made history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She won two gold medals in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres. She also earned a bronze medal in the 1,500 metres. This made her the only athlete ever to win medals in all three of these events at one Olympic Games! At the Paris 2024 Olympics, she won two more bronze medals and a gold in the marathon. This means she is the only woman to win Olympic gold in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon races.

At the World Athletics Championships, Sifan won gold in both the 1,500m and 10,000m in 2019. She is the only athlete ever to win both these events at a World Championships or Olympics. She has also won many other medals, including at the World Athletics Indoor Championships and European Athletics Championships. Sifan has also won the Diamond League three times. In 2023, she won the 2023 London Marathon in her very first marathon race!

Sifan Hassan has held world records, like for the one hour run. She also held the world record for the one mile race for a few years. She currently holds six European records and three Dutch records.

Early Life and Journey

Sifan Hassan was born in Adama, Oromia, Ethiopia. She grew up in the countryside. She enjoyed running for fun there. In 2008, when she was 15, she came to the Netherlands as a refugee. She started running seriously while studying to become a nurse. Sifan became a Dutch citizen in 2013.

Amazing Achievements

Starting Her Running Career

Hassan (right) at a race in Leiden, Netherlands, in 2012.

Sifan started her official running career in 2011. She won the Eindhoven half marathon race. In 2012, she won more cross country races and a 3,000-meter race.

Her big breakthrough came in 2013. She ran very fast times in the 800m and 1,500m races. She also finished third in a 3,000m race, making her one of the fastest in the world that year. After becoming a Dutch citizen, she won a gold medal at the 2013 European Cross Country Championships.

In 2014, Sifan continued to shine. She set a world-leading time for the 3,000m indoors. She also broke the Dutch indoor record for the 1,500m. She won the 1,500m at the Paris Diamond League and the Glasgow Grand Prix. At the 2014 European Athletics Championships, she won gold in the 1,500m and silver in the 5,000m.

World and European Success

Hassan (left) with her silver medal for the 5,000 meters at the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zurich.

In 2015, Sifan won gold in the 1,500m at the 2015 European Indoor Athletics Championships. She set a new Dutch record in the 1,500m at the Monaco Diamond League. At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, she won a bronze medal in the 1,500m. She was only the second Dutch woman to win a medal at the World Championships. She also won gold at the 2015 European Cross Country Championships.

Women's 1,500 metres podium at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. From left to right: Faith Kipyegon, Genzebe Dibaba and Sifan Hassan.

Hassan celebrates her 1,500 metres win and her first world title at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland.

Sifan won her first world title in 2016. She took gold in the 1,500m at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At the 2016 European Athletics Championships, she won a silver medal. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, she finished fifth in the 1,500m.

In 2017, she placed fifth in the 1,500m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships. She also won a bronze medal in the 5,000m event.

Breaking Records and Double Wins

In 2018, Sifan broke the European record for the 5,000 meters. She ran it in 14:22.34. She also won a gold medal in the 5,000m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships. Later that year, she broke the European record for the half marathon. She ran it in 1:05:15.

Hassan races 10,000 m at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, California, in 2019.

In 2019, Sifan set a world record for the 5 km road race. She finished in 14:44. She also broke the European 3,000m record. On July 12, she set a new world record for the mile run. She finished in 4:12:33, breaking a record that had stood for almost 23 years!

Sifan was the double 2019 Diamond League champion. She won both the 1,500m and 5,000m trophies.

In the 1,500 m final of the 2019 Doha World Championships, Hassan defeated Faith Kipyegon.

The fastest women in the world over the 1500 m at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. From left to right: Kipyegon, Hassan and Gudaf Tsegay.

At the 2019 World Championships, Hassan completed the 1,500 m/10,000 m golden double, the first such in history of global championships.

At the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Sifan made history. She won gold in both the 10,000m and 1,500m races. This was the first time any athlete had won both events at a global championship.

Olympic and Marathon Triumphs

In 2020, Sifan set a new world record for the One hour run. She ran 18,930 meters in one hour. In 2021, she set a European record for the 10,000m. She even held the world record for the 10,000m for two days!

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Sifan won two gold medals. She won the 5,000m and 10,000m races. She also took home a bronze medal in the 1,500m. This amazing achievement made her the only athlete to win medals in all three events at the same Olympics.

The year 2022 was a bit of a break for Sifan. She still competed at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She finished sixth in the 5,000m and fourth in the 10,000m.

In 2023, Sifan tried something new: the marathon. In her very first marathon, the 2023 London Marathon, she won! She even stopped twice during the race to stretch her leg. Despite this, she caught up and won in a sprint finish. Later that year, she won the Chicago Marathon with the second-fastest women's marathon time ever.

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Sifan faced a challenge. She fell in the 10,000m race but still came back strong. She won a bronze medal in the 1,500m and a silver medal in the 5,000m.

In 2024, Sifan continued her marathon journey. She finished fourth at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, she won bronze medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m. Then, she won gold in the women's marathon! This made her the first woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon, 5,000m, and 10,000m races. She also became the first Olympic athlete since 1952 to win medals in these three events at the same Games.

Her Coaches and Training

Sifan Hassan first achieved success with Dutch coach Honore Hoedt. After some injuries, she looked for new coaching in 2016.

In 2017, Sifan moved to the United States. She joined the Nike Oregon Project. There, she was coached by Alberto Salazar. In 2018, Tim Rowberry joined the Nike Oregon Project as a coach. He mainly worked with Sifan Hassan.

In 2019, Alberto Salazar received a ban from athletics. This was for rule violations that happened before he coached Sifan. The Nike Oregon Project then closed down. Sifan and her training partner Yomif Kejelcha formed a new group. They continued to train with coach Tim Rowberry.

Tim Rowberry is still Sifan's coach today. Since working with him, she has set many new personal best times. These include her best times in the 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m, half marathon, and marathon.

Personal Bests

Here are Sifan Hassan's best times in different races:

Awards and Honours

Sifan Hassan has received many awards for her amazing running:

• Dutch Athlete of the Year: 2018, 2019, 2021
• Dutch Sportswoman of the Year: 2019, 2021, 2024
• Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau: 2021 (a special honor in the Netherlands)
• European Athlete of the Year: 2021
• World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year: 2024 (first Dutchwoman to win this award!)

See also

In Spanish: Sifan Hassan para niños