It’s amazing – Sifan Hassan relishing London Marathon return after dream debut
It’s amazing – Sifan Hassan relishing London Marathon return after dream debut
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Former winner Sifan Hassan admitted the London Marathon is “in my heart” as she prepares to return to the scene of her remarkable debut in the competition two years ago. The Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete, in what was her first-ever marathon, claimed a stunning victory on the streets of the capital in 2023 despite stopping twice during the race and trailing first place by 28 seconds at one point.
Since then, the versatile 32-year-old has continued to go from strength to strength over both middle and long-distance disciplines, including producing another breathtaking showing at Paris 2024. There, she won marathon gold with an Olympic women’s record time of two hours 22 minutes and 55 seconds – a feat achieved barely 36 hours after claiming a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres final.
Hassan’s focus is now back on the TCS London Marathon, which takes place on April 27, and she is hoping to enjoy this year’s event more than her epic bow two years ago. Hassan, who did not take part in last year’s race, said: “If you look back, London is in my heart. It’s amazing, it is almost kind of like Paris.
“I thought I don’t know what I’m going to do, but sometimes it is a miracle, sometimes a miracle happens. “Miracles happen by doing, by working hard, by practice, by trying, so that happened to me and it’s kind of like that for me, London. “I really have great feeling there, the way I start (marathon running), I never dream of marathon. It was London, when I finished after London, that’s when suddenly my brain is thinking about Paris – I’m going to do the marathon there.
