'I'm scared of the marathon but love the extra challenge'

Sifan Hassan tells Jack Rathborn about her unprecedented treble for a woman at the Olympics, claiming gold in the marathon following bronze medals at 5,000m and 10,000m

- Jack Rathborn

Sifan Hassan remembers it well, three years ago in Tokyo as she attended the Olympics closing ceremony after pulling off a famous treble of medals in the 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. The Dutch athlete had completed a herculean effort, yet she quickly found herself gazing over at men’s marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge.

The Kenyan great was reminiscing with Hassan’s compatriot Abdi Nageeye, who had just won silver, and Hassan found herself in awe of the pair. There was “jealousy” even, and despite her own athletic greatness, she wondered, “how do these people do the marathon? It’s just crazy to push human endurance this much.”

Fast forward to 2024 and Kipchoge’s mantra, “no human is limited,” has clearly rubbed off on Hassan after her historic achievement in Paris. She confessed to being “curious” ahead of the daunting and “impossible” treble of the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon. It would mean 50 laps of the track and just 35 hours to recover upon completing the 10,000m final before tackling 26.2 miles. Not any old marathon, either – this was the hardest Olympic marathon course in history, with several menacing hills and a combined elevation to surpass both the Boston and New York marathons.