Sifan Hassan, RunBlogRun interview, talks Paris 2024, the race and major marathons, part 2 of 3

This is part 2 of 3 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 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 helped the Netherlands win the bronze medal. It was the first time he represented his new country, the Netherlands.

Sifan held the mile world record (4:12) from 2019 to 2023. He also 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:

Personally, his European record at the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the current European record of 2:13.44, is pretty impressive, but his one-hour world record shocks me because he’s a quarter-mile away from a perfect five-minute run. : miles in an hour! Siphan’s mental strength is something to behold.

We reached out to Brett Holtz at NIKE Sports Marketing and asked if he could help us reach Sifan Hassan. 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.

Here are questions 5-8.

Paris 2024

5. RunBlogRun. the longer the race, the better you feel; tell us how hard the paris trio was.

Sifan Hasan. I was terrified, but also curious as to what might happen. I took it one step at a time, staying grateful, resting as much as possible, and focusing on my nutrition. The 5000m was where I felt the most insecure, but the heat gave me confidence and I was thrilled with the result of the final. Once that was done I could focus on the 10,000m and the marathon. I was not impressed with the 10,000 meters. I felt like I had a shot at gold, but that made me even more motivated for the marathon. Crossing the marathon finish line felt like fireworks in my head. I was happy to win, but I was even happier to complete my mission.

6. RunBlogRun. Can you tell us about finishing the marathon in Paris? It was like a bicycle race.

Sifan Hasan. On the bike, go up in the middle. (laughs) I was just trying to stay focused and careful until the finish line. In the last few meters I held on
saying to myself. “Don’t fall, don’t fall!” because you never know what could happen. I wasn’t happy with my 10,000m a few days ago, so I think that made me focus more and fight harder. The marathon was significant for me.

Different

7. RunBlogRun. Have you run 800m before a marathon? Do you have a favorite distance?

Sifan Hasan. I love all distances for different reasons, but I’ve really come to love the marathon.

Major marathons

8. RunBlogRun. In your first marathon in London, you stopped a few times and the announcers thought you were out of the race. It was so exciting to watch you run there. can you tell me about your first marathon?

Sifan Hasan. It was a unique experience. Before the race, my coach and I looked at the field and thought, “This may be difficult, but let’s see what happens.” I was happy to make it to the pack despite the challenges and obviously so pleased with the result.

Tune in Thursday for Part 3 of our Sifan Hasan interview.

Special thanks to NIKE’s Brett Holtz and Simon Bairu for this interview and of course Sifan Hassan. Photos courtesy of Kevin Morris, London Marathon Media, World Athletics and the NN Running team.