– Unbelievable. I never thought I would complete a marathon and here I am, as a winner, says Hassan to the BBC.
Hassan took Olympic gold in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in Tokyo 2021, but has never before ventured over such a long distance as a roughly 40-kilometer marathon.
No one thought she could win in London after she was forced to stop and stretch a sore hip in a rainy London.
— I had a little problem with my hip, but it felt a little better afterwards. But then I missed a drink station. I hadn’t practiced that part because I’ve been fasting, so it was quite difficult, says the Ethiopian-born Hassan, who is Muslim and has been fasting during Ramadan.
— At 20 kilometers I felt that I was on my way, I didn’t feel so tired, but I didn’t care how it would go, I just thought about getting to the finish line.
She caught up with the lead with barely five kilometers to go. And the 30-year-old then sprinted to victory ahead of Kenyan Alemu Megertu and Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, clocking 2.18.33.
It was the first time Jepchirchir had been beaten in a major marathon.