This is part 1 of our exclusive interview with Sifan Hasan
Sifan Hasan is one of the most famous and fascinating athletes in the world. Across all of our Paris 2024 social media, Sifan Hassan was the most popular global athlete at Paris 2024.
Sifan Hassan and his family moved to the Netherlands in 2008 at the age of 15 as political refugees from Ethiopia. Sifan became a Dutch citizen in 2013. This writer first saw her at the 2014 European Athletics Outdoor Championships in August 2014 in Zurich. At the EAC, Sifan won bronze in the 5000m and won the 1500m. It was always fun to watch Sifan race and his emotional reaction to racing and his obvious enjoyment of the sport.
Siphan has always run the gamut. At the beginning of his career, he ran from 800 meters to half marathon with khachkar. In December 2013, Sifan Hassan won a gold medal at the European Under-23 Athletics Championships and also helped the Netherlands to a bronze medal. It was the first time he represented his new country, the Netherlands.
Sifan held the world record for the mile (4:12) from 2019 to 2023. He’s held the 10,000 meter world record for two days and still holds the world hour record (18,930 meters is 11.7623 miles), which is brutal.
In terms of European records. Sifan Hassan holds European records in 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10000m, half marathon and marathon.
Sifan Hassan is a hugely talented athlete who works hard, laughs and runs with abandon. In RunBlogRun’s global audience, he is one of our most popular, judging by the response on social media, and the article reads:
We reached out to Brett Holtz at NIKE Sports Marketing and asked if he could help us reach Sifan Hasan. Not only did Brett Holts do that, but the speed with which the interview came back was incredible.
We hope you enjoy these insights on Sifan Hasan, who just won bronze in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and then gold in the marathon. They are his fourth, fifth and sixth Olympic medals.
Cross-Country
1. RunBlogRun. Sifan, what were your first cross country experiences like? What is your biggest lesson from riding cross country? What’s the best racing tip you can give young runners about cross country?
Sifan Hasan. I have always loved cross country. I grew up in the mountains and actually enjoy running on rough terrain.
Cross taught me a lot about patience and placement in races. I love the freedom of movement at the intersection, and so do you
find in a road race. In track racing, everyone fears running too hard or running too far in the outside lane. I don’t like this, so I always stay behind. I feel like a crossover gives you more options.
I recommend starting slowly and walking well. I remember once I started really fast and it was harder than a marathon.
2. RunBlogRun. Will we see you do more cross country races?
Sifan Hasan. I absolutely would! I like the idea of incorporating long distance races into marathon preparation. The schedule makes it difficult, but I’d like to cover more next season.
Tokyo 2020
3. RunBlogRun; In the heats in Tokyo, you fell in the 1500m and I remember you getting up and sprinting to get through to the final; tell me about that race
Sifan Hasan. It was one of the most emotional moments of my career. The Olympics are the pinnacle of our sport, something I’ve worked hard for. Thinking that I might lose my chance at a medal because of the fall made me get up straight away and focus even more on what I wanted to achieve. It also gave me the push I needed for the 5000m final that evening.
Budapest 2023
4. RunBlogRun. How did falling 10,000 meters affect you?
Sifan Hasan. Of course, I would prefer not to fall. But if I may say so, I don’t think I needed the medal to prove anything to me. Getting this far in the race was an achievement in itself and although the fall was unfortunate I was still happy with my performance. Later on, seeing Femke (Bol) fall in the relay also helped clear things up for both of us, I think.
Budapest, Hungary
August 19-27, 2023 Photo by Kevin Morris
Watch for part 2 tomorrow!
