Sifan Hassan traded elbows with Tigst Assefa with 150 meters left in the women’s marathon, then passed her along the railing to win the race for her third distance medal of the Paris Games on Sunday.
Hassan finished in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 55 seconds. She also won bronze in the 5,000 and 10,000. By simply completing the marathon, she ran more than 62 kilometres.
She now has six Olympic medals. In Tokyo, Hassan won the 5,000 and 10,000 and finished third in the 1,500. Assefa got silver, and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri took the bronze. Breaking tradition, the women’s Olympic marathon was held on the final day instead of the men’s race.
Hassan, an Ethiopian-born racer who runs for the Netherlands, used the same tactic in the hilly, 26.2-mile course as on the oval. She lingered behind the leaders for most of the race before summoning up the energy for a late-race kick that would go down as one of the best the sport has seen.
This one, amazingly, had more the look of a crowded race on the oval down the stretch. As Hassan gathered to make her last pass, Assefa, from Ethiopia, tried to block her path. Hassan moved to the inside around a bend.
Assefa tried to squeeze her against the barrier separating the course from the cheering fans. The runners traded elbows, and then, Hassan took off past Assefa and sprinted in for the win.
