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Sifan Hassan
Hassan cropped.jpg
Hassan at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Nationality Dutch
Born (1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 31)
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, 33 Bronze
  • 2017 London
  • 1500 m, 5th
  • 5000 m, 33 Bronze
  • 2019 Doha
  • 1500 m, 11 Gold
  • 10,000 m, 11 Gold
  • 2022 Eugene
  • 5000 m, 6th
  • 10,000 m, 4th
  • 2023 Budapest
  • 1500 m, 33 Bronze
  • 5000 m, 22 Silver
  • 10,000 m, 11th
Olympic finals
  • 2016 Rio de Janeiro
  • 800 m, h (21st)
  • 1500 m, 5th
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 1500 m, 33 Bronze
  • 5000 m, 11 Gold
  • 10,000 m, 11 Gold
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games
Gold 2020 Tokyo 5000 m
Gold 2020 Tokyo 10,000 m
Bronze 2020 Tokyo 1500 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
Diamond League
2015 1500 m
2019 1500 m
2019 5000 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold 2016 Portland 1500 m
Silver 2018 Birmingham 3000 m
Bronze 2018 Birmingham 1500 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 Europe
Gold 2014 Marrakech 1500 m
Gold 2018 Ostrava 3000 m
World Marathon Majors
Gold 2023 London Marathon
Gold 2023 Chicago Marathon

Sifan Hassan (Oromo: Siifan Hassan; born 1 January 1993) is an Ethiopian-born 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 5000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1500 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 woman to complete an Olympic distance double.

At the World Athletics Championships, Hassan took 1500 m and 10,000 m titles in 2019, becoming the only athlete (male or female) in history to win both these 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 1500 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

Sifan Hassan was born in Adama, Oromia, Ethiopia and raised in the countryside of Kersa in the Munesa district of the Arsi Zone of Oromia. She was a recreational runner there. She left Ethiopia as a refugee and arrived in the Netherlands in 2008 at age fifteen. She began running while undertaking studies to become a nurse.

Hassan became a Dutch citizen in 2013.

Career

2011–2012

Sifan Hassan - 120609-011
Sifan (R) at the 2012 Gouden Spike meeting held in Leiden (NL).

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

Podium 5000m women Zurich 2014
Sifan Hassan (L) with her silver for the 5000 m at the 2014 European Athletics Championships held in Zürich. She won her first European senior title at the event with a 1500 m victory.

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 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.

2015

Women's 1500 m podium Beijing 2015
Women's 1500 m podium at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing (L–R): Faith Kipyegon, Genzebe Dibaba and Sifan Hassan.

At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Hassan won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres. She became the second female Dutch athlete ever to win a medal at the World Championships, after Dafne Schippers. She was the third female Dutch winner at the 2015 European Cross Country Championships, following in the footsteps of fellow African migrants Hilda Kibet and Lornah Kiplagat.

2016–2017

Sifan Hassan at Portland 2016a
Hassan celebrates her 1500 m win and the first world title at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland.

Hassan 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. 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.

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

2019 Payton Jordan Invitational (46848948765)
Hassan races 10,000 m at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, CA in 2019.

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.

Women's 1500m final at 2019 World Athletics Championships 2
In the 1500 m final of the 2019 Doha World Championships, Hassan defeated Faith Kipyegon, who had returned after giving birth in previous year.
Women's 1500m podium at Doha 2019
The fastest women in the world over the 1500 m in 2019 (L–R): Kipyegon, Hassan and Gudaf Tsegay.
Sifan Hassan with two gold medals at 2019 World Athletics Championships
At the 2019 World Championships, Sifan Hassan completed the 1500 m/10,000 m golden double, the first such in history of global championships.

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 a new championships 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 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 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.

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. 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 in 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. She was the first non-Kenyan or Ethiopian athlete to win the event since Gabriela Szabo won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

2022

This season was considered a resting year for Hassan as she ended a break from training 5 weeks before competing at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon where she finished sixth in the 5000 metres and fourth in the 10,000 metres.

2023–present

On 23 April, on her debut over the classic marathon distance, the 30-year-old won the London Marathon with a time of 2:18:33. She lost contact with the leaders after stopping to stretch her leg twice about 19 km into the race, and was 28 seconds behind at the 25 km mark. Despite this, Hassan caught up with the slowing lead quartet with four kilometres to go and prevailed in a sprint finish on the final straight, four seconds ahead of Alemu Megertu. "It was really amazing. I never thought I would finish a marathon", said Hassan.

On 3 June, just 41 days after her marathon debut, Hassan made her return to outdoor track in Hengelo, Netherlands. She competed in the 10,000 metres and the 1500 metres, winning both events; the 10,000 metres with a time of 29:37.80, and the 1500 metres in 3:58.12.

On 8 October, Sifan Hassan won the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:13:44. This is a new course record for the Chicago Marathon as well as the second-fastest women's marathon of all time.

Coach

Sifan Hassan achieved her first career breakthroughs while under the direction of Dutch national coach Honore Hoedt. Hassan decided to search for other coaching options at the end of 2016 after injuries hampered her buildup to the Rio Olympics.

Beginning in 2017, Hassan moved to the United States to be coached by Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project.

In July 2018, the Nike Oregon project hired Tim Rowberry as a coach—primarily to oversee the training of Sifan Hassan and her fellow team member Yomif Kejelcha—while Salazar remained the head coach over all athletes in the Nike Oregon Project.

In October 2019 Salazar began serving a four-year ban from athletics for doping violations dating from before he started coaching Hassan. According to court rulings which upheld Salazar’s ban, there was “no evidence put before the CAS as to any effect on athletes competing at the elite level within the Nike Oregon Project.”

The aftermath of Salazar’s ban caused the Nike Oregon Project to dissolve leading Hassan and Kejelcha to form a new training group under coach Tim Rowberry.

Hassan's current coach is Tim Rowberry. After her partnership with Rowberry began in 2018, she has set new personal best times in the 1500m, 3k, 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon. Hassan's training partner Yomif Kejelcha remained in the group until his departure to Adidas in 2021.

Personal bests

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Type Event Time (h:m:s) Place Date Record Notes
Outdoor 800 metres 1:56.81 Monaco, Monaco 21 July 2017
1000 metres 2:34.68 Hengelo, Netherlands 24 May 2015 NR
1500 metres 3:51.95 Doha, Qatar 5 October 2019 AR
One mile 4:12.33 Monaco, Monaco 12 July 2019 AR Also a world record until that was broken by Faith Kipyegon on 21 July 2023. Second-fastest woman of all time.
3000 metres 8:18.49 Stanford, CA, United States 30 June 2019 AR
5000 metres 14:22.12 London, United Kingdom 21 July 2019 AR
10,000 metres 29:06.82 Hengelo, Netherlands 6 June 2021 AR Also a world record until that was broken by Letesenbet Gidey on 8 June 2021. Second-fastest woman of all time.
One hour 18,930 m Brussels, Belgium 4 September 2020 WR
Indoor 800 metres 2:02.62 i Apeldoorn, Netherlands 28 February 2016
1500 metres 4:00.46 i Stockholm, Sweden 19 February 2015 NR
One mile 4:19.89 i New York, NY, United States 11 February 2017 NR
3000 metres 8:30.76 i Birmingham, United Kingdom 18 February 2017 NR
Road 5 km 14:44 Wo Monaco, Monaco 17 February 2019 AR Also a world record until Beatrice Chepkoech broke the overall record on 14 February 2021 and Senbere Teferi broke the women's-only-race record on 12 September 2021.
10 km 34:28 Brunssum, Netherlands 1 April 2012
15 km 53:57 's-Heerenberg, Netherlands 4 December 2011
Half marathon 65:15 Copenhagen, Denmark 16 September 2018 AR
Marathon 2:13:44 Chicago, United States 8 October 2023 AR Second-fastest woman of all time

Competition results

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Result Notes
Representing  Netherlands
2013 European Cross Country Championships Belgrade, Serbia 1st U23 race 19:40
3rd U23 team 70 pts
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 5th 3000 m i 9:03.22
European Team Championships, Super League Braunschweig, Germany 1st 3000 m 8:45.24 CR
European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 1st 1500 m 4:04.18
2nd 5000 m 15:31.79
Continental Cup Marrakesh, Morocco 1st 1500 m 4:05.99
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 1st 1500 m i 4:09.04
World Championships Beijing, China sf (5th) 800 m 1:58.50 PB
3rd 1500 m 4:09.34
European Cross Country Championships Hyères, France 1st Senior race 25:47
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, OR, United States 1st 1500 m i 4:04.96
European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 2nd 1500 m 4:33.76
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil h (21st) 800 m 2:00.27 SB
5th 1500 m 4:11.23
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 5th 1500 m 4:03.34
3rd 5000 m 14:42.73
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 3rd 1500 m i 4:07.26
2nd 3000 m i 8:45.68 SB
European Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 5000 m 14:46.12 CR
Continental Cup Ostrava, Czech Republic 1st 3000 m 8:27.50 CR NR
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 1st 1500 m 3:51.95 CR AR
1st 10,000 m 30:17.62 WL PB
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 1500 m 3:55.86
1st 5000 m 14:36.79
1st 10,000 m 29:55.32
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 6th 5000 m 14:48.12 SB
4th 10,000 m 30:10.56 SB
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 1500 m 3:56.00
2nd 5000 m 14:54.11
11th 10,000 m 31:53.35
World Marathon Majors
2023 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:18:33 NR
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 1st Marathon 2:13:44 AR

Circuit wins and titles

  • Diamond League plain icon.svg Diamond League Overall 1500 m winner: 2015
  • Diamond League plain icon.svg Diamond League 1500 m champion: 2019
  • Diamond League plain icon.svg Diamond League 5000 m champion: 2019
    • 2014 (2): Paris Meeting Areva (1500 m), Glasgow Grand Prix (1500 m)
    • 2015 (2): Birmingham British Grand Prix (1500 m), Lausanne Athletissima (1500 m)
    • 2017 (3): Rome Golden Gala (1500 m), Paris (1500 m), Birmingham (3000 m)
    • 2018 (2): London Anniversary Games (One mile), Birmingham (1500 m)
    • 2019 (4): Palo Alto Prefontaine Classic (3000 m), Monaco Herculis (One mile, MR DLR WR), Zürich Weltklasse (1500 m), Brussels Memorial Van Damme (5000 m)
    • 2020 (1): Brussels (One hour)
    • 2021 (3): Rome Golden Gala in Florence (1500 m), Eugene Prefontaine Classic (5000 m), Brussels (One mile)
    • 2022 (1): Chorzów Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (3000 m)

National titles

  • Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships
    • 800 metres: 2016
    • 1500 metres: 2015

Awards and honours

  • Dutch Athlete of the Year: 2018, 2019, 2021
  • Dutch Sportswoman of the Year: 2019, 2021
  • Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau: 2021
  • European Athlete of the Year: 2021

See also

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