“We watched breathlessly, it was extra fun to watch her the day after your own marathon,” says Valerie. “We screamed really loudly in the hotel room. We wanted to stand along the course to cheer on Sifan, but we took a break anyway. We didn’t get to our room until late.” The attentive viewer must have seen it too, the moment in the race when Hassan seemed to get into trouble uphill. “That hill, at kilometre 28 was really tough. Then you go down steeply too, you really feel that on your thighs, I saw several participants with cramps there too. I had stitches in my side myself. I didn’t worry about my time either, because it was so tough.”
Sisters ran ‘Olympic marathon’ in Sifan Hassan’s footsteps: ‘It was like really participating in the Games’
