The reigning Olympic marathon champion, Sifan Hassan has been announced among the top cream of athletes that will appear at this year’s London Marathon slated for April 27, 2025 in London.
Hassan went into the history as the first person to win three medals in marathon, 10,000m and 5,000m over six extraordinary days in Paris, since Emil Zatopek in 1952.
The 32 year-old who is also a three time Olympic champion, won the London Marathon in 2023 despite crying before the start, stopping twice to stretch an injured hip, and then nearly being taken out by a motorbike. However, that victory in her first race over 26.2 miles sowed the seeds for Paris a year later.
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“London is in my heart,” she said. “A miracle happened to me by working hard, by practicing, by trying. I never dreamed that I was going to win marathon gold. But after I finished London my brain suddenly thought about Paris.”
“Then before Paris, I really struggled. I had over trained. When I arrived, I thought: ‘OK my Olympic year is over.’ I had no desire. But I thought I just do my best.”
Since that victory, Hassan has seen Ruth Chepngetich become the first woman to run the marathon in under 2:10, her time of 2:09.56 breaking the world record by almost two minutes. But she believes she can go quicker – eventually.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “No one thought a female would run that time. I’m really happy that she did it, because I don’t care how she did it, she just showed me it is possible.
“If I train it correctly, it will maybe take me two years. First I have to be in 2:11 shape. Then 2:10. And then run that time. But it is possible.”
Hassan returned to training in late December but she has admitted that her training block from a place of low fitness after taking four months off after Paris to relax with friends and family.