Sifan Hassan has dismissed suggestions she is the greatest long-distance runner of all time, despite winning Olympic gold in the marathon and bronze medals in the 10,000m and 5,000m during six extraordinary days in Paris.
This makes the Dutch athlete, who has just been announced as the star attraction at this year’s London Marathon, the first person to win medals in all three events in a single Games since Emil Zatopek in 1952.
However, Hassan, who has also held world records in the mile and 10,000m, refuses to believe she is the greatest of all time as she believes it will stop her from reaching even greater heights .
“I don’t think I’m the Goat,” she said. “Because if I do, I’m not going to get better. Everyone gets better, as long as they don’t give up. Even when you think you’re amazing, you always have the opportunity to become even more amazing.
This includes plans to go faster at all distances, from miles to marathons, as well as to run four major marathons in a year.
“I’m really mad,” she said. “If you open my head, there are so many things. If I try to do something, or if I’m closer, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, I’m the goat of my imagination.’ I want to see what I can do. And I have room to improve.
Hassan won the 2023 London Marathon despite crying before the start, stopping twice to stretch an injured hip and then almost being run off by a motorbike. However, this victory in his first race over 26.2 miles sowed the seeds for Paris a year later.
“London is in my heart,” she said. “A miracle happened to me by working hard, by training, by trying. I never dreamed that I would win gold in the marathon. But after finishing London, my brain suddenly thought of Paris.
“Then before Paris, I really struggled. I had overtrained. When I arrived, I said to myself: “Okay, my Olympic year is over. » I had no desire. But I thought I did my best.
Since that victory, Hassan has watched Ruth Chepngetich become the first woman to run the marathon in under 2 hours 10 minutes, her time of 2:09:56 beating the world record by almost two minutes. But she thinks she will eventually be able to go faster.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “No one thought a woman would run that time. I’m really happy that she did it, because I don’t care how she did it, she just showed me that it was possible.
“If I train it properly, it might take me two years. First I have to be in shape 2:11. Then 2:10 p.m. And then run this time. But it’s possible.