Sifan Hassan Wins London Marathon in Stunning Comeback

Sifan Hassan, an Olympic track champion from the Netherlands running her first marathon, staged a stunning comeback on Sunday to win the London Marathon in one of the most dramatic and unexpected finishes in the race’s history.

In winning, Hassan, 30, showed both her stunning range as a runner — she was a triple medalist in three shorter distances on the Tokyo Olympics track two years ago and holds the world record in the mile — but also her inexperience as a marathoner.

An Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete better known for her middle-distance success, Hassan fell off the pace about an hour into the race, stopped at least once to stretch her aching left hip, and offered a drink to one of her rivals as they ran even after missing a water stop herself — the result, she said later, of having never practiced for them.

Hassan did it all despite training for the race during Ramadan, a month of fasting that left her unable to complete long runs because she could not eat or drink during the day.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/sports/sifan-hassan-london-marathon.html