PARIS: Sifan Hassan completed her mission impossible with a gruelling women’s marathon win on the sun-baked streets of Paris Sunday.
On the final day of what has been seen as a spectacular Games, the race to top the medals table was coming down to the final event, with China and the US grappling for dominance.
Dutchwoman Hassan had taken on what many considered to be a crazy gamble, competing in the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon — the last two events just two days apart.
But in a thrilling sprint finish, Hassan overhauled Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa to take gold by three seconds in an Olympic record of 2hr 22min 55sec.
On Friday, she had taken bronze in the 10,000m in the Stade de France after coming away with a bronze in the 5,000m.
She fell to the ground on the blue carpet in front of the golden dome of the Invalides memorial complex in the heart of Paris before grabbing a Dutch flag to celebrate an extraordinary achievement.
“It was not easy,” said Hassan, 31. “It was so hot, but I was feeling OK. I’ve never pushed myself through to the finish line as I did today.”
“Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5,000m and 10,000m. 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?’
Hassan’s victory was a sensational ending to an Olympics athletics program that saw US sprinter Noah Lyles win the 100m by just five thousandths of a second.
