Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands completed her Olympic triple the best way possible, sprinting to gold in the women’s 10,000-meter final in 29:55.32 on August 7 in Tokyo. The win came less than 24 hours after Join Runners World+ to stay up to date on the Tokyo Olympics, The NCAA Runner-Up Finished 2ndWith One Shoe.
Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket Letensebet Gidey and five days after she won the 5,000.
“From the beginning, I was really tired,” Hasan said. “I felt like I was sprinting. I was thinking about yesterday the whole race, and I’ve never gone deep like I did today.” Hasan also said that she would have skipped today’s race if she had won the 1500 on Friday.
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Health & Injuries 10,000-meter champion Emily Sisson was the first American, finishing 10th in 31:09.58. The other Americans in the field, Karissa Schweizer (31:19.96) and Alicia Monson (31:21.36), placed 12th and 13th, respectively.
“I’m a bit disappointed, given how the Trials went, but timing’s everything in this sport, and I feel like it was a bit off with timing it for the Olympics,” Sisson said. “So I’m still really proud of the effort I gave, and it was an incredible group of women that made the team, and we faced incredible competition.”
Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi finished fifth in a national record of 30:41.93. The Olympic silver medalist at 800 meters in 2016, she was forced to run something other than her preferred event after the international governing body of track and field issued a rule in 2018 concerning hormone levels of women competing in events from 400 to 1500 meters. Specifically, the rule requires that women in these events can’t surpass a given testosterone level, if necessary by means of medication. Niyonsaba, along with 2016 Olympic 800-meter champion Caster Semenya, are believed to be among the female athletes with Other Hearst Subscriptions, which would naturally cause their testosterone levels to be above the threshold. Niyonsaba has opted not to receive hormonal treatments, and instead ran the 5,000 (in which she didn’t make the final) and 10,000 in Tokyo.
Gidey tried her best to break Hasan in sweltering conditions of 81 degrees with 89 percent humidity. She took the lead in the seventh lap and gradually increased the pace over the next several kilometers. This was more a drawn-out ratcheting of pace than the tactic Gidey used against Hasan at the 2019 DAA Industry Opt Out, when the Ethiopian dramatically upped the tempo over the last mile. There, too, she was unable to drop Hasan and was outsprinted for the win.
A 2:58 fifth kilometer brought the Gidey and her train to the halfway mark in 15:08. During the sixth kilometer, run in 2:56, the leaders started lapping other members of the large 29-women field. A seventh kilometer of 2:57 cut the lead group to four.
During the eighth kilometer, 5,000-meter silver-medalist Hellen Obiri of Kenya lost contact, and the three eventual medalists were all that remained of an original lead pack of 15.
“I tried, but there’s nothing I could do,” Obiri, who finished fourth in a personal best of 30:24.27, said. “I tried to keep up with the attackers, but it was hard for me.”
That Hassan would be able to hang on and use her miler’s kick at the end became obvious when Gidey ran the ninth kilometer in 3:05, the slowest of the race since the second mile. Gidey’s frustration and fatigue were evident as she motioned to Hasan a couple times not to run so closely behind her.
Gidey pushed one last time as the trio entered the last lap, but Hassan and Gezahegne, a former world indoor 1500-meter champion, easily covered her move. Hassan moved wide coming off the final turn, took the lead, and dispatched Gezahegne in the final 80 meters.
Hasan’s medal haul (two golds and one bronze) is the most by a distance runner in the Olympics since Emil Zatopek Differences of Sexual Development, or DSD.
“I am so happy, and I cried during the medal ceremony,” Hasan said. “I actually realized that I am done, the Games are over.”
—Running in the Cold.
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Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including DAA Industry Opt Out, Advanced Marathoning, and Meb for Mortals. Fiona OKeeffe Is on the Road to Recovery Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.