Reigning Chicago Marathon champion Sifan Hassan will make her debut at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade at the end of the month. The winner of the London Marathon will start in Serbia on March 30 on her way to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist on the track started her career on the road, but continues to excel on the track as well.
Sifan Hassan’s time of 2:13:44 hours at the Chicago Marathon broke the course record and is the second-fastest marathon time in the history of the women’s marathon. At the Tokyo Marathon in early March, she finished fourth in 2:18:05 hours, falling short of expectations, but still managing to run faster than her 2023 London Marathon winning time of 2:18:33 hours.
Sifan Hassan is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m and a bronze medal for the 1,500m. At the World Athletics Championships, Sifan Hassan took 1,500m and 10,000m titles in 2019. She won a bronze at the 1,500m in 2015, and at the 5,000m in 2017 when she also finished fifth in the 1,500m. Sifan Hassan is a three-time World Indoor Championships medalist, winning gold at 1,500m in 2016 as well as silver at 3,000m and bronze for 1,500m in 2018.
Sifan Hassan has been the world record holder for the one hour run since 2020. She held the world record for the one mile on the track from July 2019 to July 2023, when Faith Kipyegon overtook it. She held a world record at 10,000m for two days in June 2021. She holds six European records (1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m, half marathon, marathon) and three other Dutch records.
