Sifan Hassan ( om, Siifan Hassan; born 1 January 1993) is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

-born Dutch middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. She completed an unprecedented triple at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

winning gold medals in both the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

, and a bronze medal for the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double. At the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

, Hassan took 1500m and 10,000m titles in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, becoming the only athlete (male or female) in history to win both these events at a single World Championships or Olympic Games. She won a bronze at the 1500m in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, and at the 5000m in

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when she also finished fifth for the 1500m. Hassan is a three-time World Indoor Championships medallist, winning gold at 1500m in 2016 as well as silver at 3000m and bronze for 1500m in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. She earned six European medals (including two cross country titles), and one European indoor medal. She is also a three-time

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

winner, having secured the 1500m/5000m double in

. Hassan is the world record holder for both the

one mile The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

and 5 km road race, both set in 2019, as well as the one hour run, set in 2020. She held a world record at 10,000 m for two days in June 2021. She owns five

European records European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

(1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10,000m,

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

) and three Dutch records.

Early life

Sifan Hassan was born in

Adama Adama ( Oromo: ' or ', Amharic: አዳማ), formerly Nazreth ( am, ናዝሬት), is a city in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an ...

Oromia Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Be ...

, Ethiopia and raised in the countryside of Kersa in the Munesa district of the

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone ...

of Oromia. She was a recreational runner there. She left Ethiopia as a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and arrived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2008 at age fifteen. She began running while undertaking studies to become a nurse. Hassan became a Dutch citizen in 2013.

Career

2011–2012

Affiliated with Eindhoven Atletiek, Hassan entered the Eindhoven half marathon in 2011 and won the race with a time of 77:10 minutes. She was also runner-up at two cross country races (Sylvestercross and Mol

Lotto Cross Cup The Lotto Cross Cup is an annual series of international cross country running competitions in Belgium. The inaugural season was in 1982–1983. The series comprises Belgium's foremost cross country competitions, including the IAAF permit meeting in ...

). She won those races in 2012, as well as the 3000 m at the Leiden Gouden Spike meet.Sifan Hassan
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 22 February 2014.

2013–2014

Hassan made her breakthrough in the 2013 season. She ran an

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

best of 2:00.86 minutes to win at the

KBC Night of Athletics The KBC Night of Athletics ( nl, Nacht van de Atletiek) is an annual athletics event at the Stadium De Veen in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It is officially presented and sponsored by the KBC Bank.Hendrix, Ivo (2010-07-10)Phenomenal 1:41.51 for Ru ...

and took wins in the 1500 m at the Nijmegen Global Athletics and

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike ( cz, Zlatá tretra) is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interru ...

meets. On the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit she was runner-up in the 1500 m at

Athletissima Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. The first edition was held on 8 July 1977 in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In 1 ...

with a personal best of 4:03.73 minutes and was third at the

DN Galan BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of ...

3000 m with a best of 8:32.53 minutes – this time ranked her the fourth fastest runner in the world that year. Hassan became a Dutch citizen in November 2013, too late for competing at the 2013 World Championships, and the following month she made her first appearance for the Netherlands. At the

2013 European Cross Country Championships The 2013 European Cross Country Championships was the 20th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 8 December 2013. The senior individual winners were Alemayehu Bezabeh of Spain ...

she won the gold medal in the under-23 category and helped the Dutch team to third in the rankings. She also won the Warandeloop and Lotto Cross Cup Brussels races that winter. At the beginning of 2014 she ran a world leading time of 8:45.32 minutes for the 3000 m at the Weltklasse in Karlsruhe, then broke the Dutch record in the indoor 1500 m with a time of 4:05.34 minutes at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix.

2015

At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Hassan won the bronze medal in the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athleti ...

. She became the second female Dutch athlete ever to win a medal at the World Championships, after Dafne Schippers. She was the third female Dutch winner at the 2015 European Cross Country Championships, following in the footsteps of fellow African migrants

Hilda Kibet Hilda Kibet (born 27 March 1981 in Keiyo District) is a Dutch runner of Kenyan birth. She is the sister of Sylvia Kibet and the niece of Lornah Kiplagat. She obtained Dutch nationality in October 2007. Kibet's longtime partner is Dutch marath ...

and Lornah Kiplagat. 520 finale 1500m hassan (26095090475)

2016–2017

Hassan won her heat in the 1500 m in the 2016 Summer Olympics in 4:06.64 before

Faith Kipyegon Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres. A 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record at the latter, she is the second woman in history ...

. In the semifinals she placed second in 4:03.62 after Genzebe Dibaba who won in 4:03.06. In the final Kipyegon took the Olympic gold medal with 4:08.92, Dibaba was the runner up with 4:10.27 and Jennifer Simpson took the bronze medal in 4:10.53. Hassan placed fifth in a time of 4:11.23. She finished fifth in the 1500 m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships and won the bronze medal in the 5000 metres event.

2018

On 13 July, she broke the European record for 5000 metres by finishing second at the Rabat Diamond League in 14:22.34. A few days later, Hassan won the first

Millicent Fawcett Mile The Millicent Fawcett Mile is an annual one mile running race for women, inaugurated in 2018 at the Müller Anniversary Games held in London in July 2018. The inaugural race was won by Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) in 4:14.71. There had been a women ...

at the 2018

London Anniversary Games The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Dia ...

in a time of 4:14.71, the fourth fastest result at the time. At the 2018 European Championships, she won a gold medal in the 5000 m with the time 14:46:12, setting the new championships record. On 16 September, she broke the European record for the half marathon with a time of 65:15, winning the Copenhagen half marathon

2019

On 17 February, Hassan set the world record for a 5 km road race stopping the clock at 14m 44s in Monaco. The 5 km road race has been a world record event since 1 November 2017. At the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the Univers ...

in June, she broke a European 3000m record with a time of 8m 18.49s. 2019 Payton Jordan Invitational (46848948765)

Mile world record

On 12 July, Hassan entered the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived trac ...

at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and f ...

meet in

Fontvieille, Monaco Fontvieille (; lij, Funtanaveya ) is the southernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It was developed by an Italian architect, Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s. History In contrast to the other city districts Monaco- ...

. Olha Lyakhova was the pace setter, taking the field through the first two laps (measured at the start line, not the quarter-mile splits) in 64.26 and 63.94 (2:08.20). As is typical for Hassan, she was last off the start line, but over the next 150 metres, slowly eased herself around the field on the outside into the marking position behind Lyakhova. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford soon moved through the field in between Hassan and Lyakhova for the next lap before Hassan and

Gudaf Tsegay Gudaf Tsegay Desta (born 23 January 1997) is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist in the women's 5000 metres. At the World Athletics Championships, she won a bronze for the 1500 metres ...

separated from the field as the only chasers. Between 800 and 1000 metres, Lyakhova strained to keep on pace, but Hassan and Tsegay were moving forward. After Lyakhova stepped out, the two found themselves 15 metres ahead of the pack. At 1200 metres, Hassan was looking back at her close chaser Tsegay in 3:10.13 (a 61.93 lap). Hassan accelerated, opening a 5-metre gap over the next 100 metres. Continuing at this pace, she passed 1500 metres in about 3:55. Hassan covered the last 409.344 metres in 62.20, her final time of 4:12:33 breaking

Svetlana Masterkova Svetlana Aleksandrovna Masterkova (russian: Светлана Александровна Мастеркова; born 17 January 1968) is a Russian former middle-distance runner and former women's world record holder for the mile and the current ...

's almost 23-year-old

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizati ...

. The athletes trailing Hassan rewrote the all-time top 25 list, with Laura Weightman moving into position #15, DeBues-Stafford into #17, and after #5 all-time Tsegay faded into the pack she was followed by

Rababe Arafi Rababe Arafi ( ar, رباب عرافي, born 12 January 1991) is a middle-distance runner from Morocco, who specialises in the 1500 metres. Born in Khouribga, she is a three-time medallist at the African Championships in Athletics, having been c ...

, Axumawit Embaye, Winnie Nanyondo and

Ciara Mageean Ciara Mageean ( ) (born 12 March 1992) is a middle-distance runner from Portaferry in Northern Ireland who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is a three-time European Athletics Championship medallist at the event, with bronze in 2016 and si ...

moving into positions #20–23. She was the double 2019 Diamond League champion, winning both the 1500 and 5000 metres Trophies. On 28 September, she became the 2019 World Champion in the 10,000 metres in her second race for that distance. Her first race at the event was in Stanford in a time of 31:18.12, just fast enough to achieve the qualifying standard for the World Championships. The winning time of 30:17.62 was the best time of the year on the track. Alina Reh (Germany) led the field after 3000 metres in 9:29.69. The front runner reached the halfway point in 15:32.70. Letesenbet Gidey finished in 30:21.23, with Agnes Tirop (Kenya) coming in third place in 30:25.50. The second half of the run was covered in 14:45. Hassan also won the 1500 metres race with a time of 3:51.95 (sixth place on the 1500 m all-time-list), setting a new

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and European record. The second-placed finisher was Faith Kipyegon in 3:54.22, a new Kenyan national record, and the third place went to

with 3:54.38.

2020–2021

On 10 October, Hassan set a European record for the women's 10,000 metres in a time of 29:36.67, breaking mark set by Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe in 2002 by more than 24 seconds. On 6 June 2021, she bettered her performance at the event to set a world record of 29m 06.82s in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Pop ...

, beating 2016 record of Ethiopian Almaz Ayana by more than 10 seconds. Hassan lost the record two days later, however, when Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey achieved a time of 29m 01.03s at the same stadium. Hassan won gold in the

and

at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also won bronze in the

. She became the only athlete ever to medal in the 1500, 5000, and 10,000 metres events at the same Olympics. Her 5000m winning time was 14:36.79 ahead of Hellen Obiri from Kenya with 14:38.36, while

from Ethiopia won a bronze medal in a time of 14:38.87. Her gold medal win made her the first Dutch woman with an Olympic athletics medal in a long-distance event. She was the first non-Kenyan or Ethiopian athlete to win the event since Gabriela Szabo won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

2022

This season was worse for Hassan as competing at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

she finished sixth in the

and fourth in the

Coach

Beginning in 2016, Hassan was coached by Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project. In 2019 Salazar began serving a four-year ban from athletics for doping violations dating from before he started coaching Hassan. In 2021 he was suspended for life by the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. SafeSport is tasked with ...

for sexual misconduct. Hassan's current coach is Tim Rowberry who began coaching her in July 2018. Rowberry was also the coach of runner

Yomif Kejelcha Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. On 3 March 2019, Kejelcha broke the indoor mile world recor ...

, Hassan's training partner until his recent departure to Adidas.

Achievements

Information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

Overall winner 1500 m:

Champion 1500 m:

Diamond League Champion 5000 m:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(2) 1500 m: Paris Meeting Areva, Glasgow Grand Prix **

(2) 1500 m: Birmingham British Grand Prix, Lausanne Athletissima **

(2) 1500 m: Rome Golden Gala, Meeting de Paris; (1) 3000 m: Birmingham British Grand Prix **

(1) One mile:

; (1) 1500 m: Birmingham British Grand Prix **

(1) 3000 m: Palo Alto Prefontaine Classic; (1) One mile:

Monaco Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

( ); (1) 1500 m: Zürich Weltklasse; (1) 5000 m: Brussels Memorial Van Damme **

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

(1) One hour: Brussels Memorial Van Damme **

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

(1) 1500 m: Rome Golden Gala in Florence; (1) 5000 m: Eugene Prefontaine Classic; (1) One mile: Brussels Memorial Van Damme

National championships

* Dutch Indoor Championships ** 800 m (1): 2016 ** 1500 m (1): 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Sifan 1993 births World Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists European Cross Country Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the Netherlands Olympic athletes of the Netherlands Dutch female long-distance runners Dutch female middle-distance runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female middle-distance runners Dutch female cross country runners Ethiopian female cross country runners Dutch people of Ethiopian descent Ethiopian emigrants to the Netherlands Living people Sportspeople from Oromia Region Oromo people Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)