No pain, no gain.
Just ask Sifan Hassan.
The Dutch runner capped a ridiculously challenging Olympics on Sunday with gold in the women’s marathon — her third medal at Paris 2024.
Two days earlier, Hassan won bronze in the 10,000 metres. Earlier in the meet, she captured another bronze in the 5,000 metres.
“I have no words. Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today,” Hassan told reporters after finishing the marathon in an Olympic-record time of two hours, 22 minutes, 55 seconds, per ESPN.
“From the beginning to the end, it was so hard. Every step of the way. I was thinking, ‘Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?’ If I hadn’t done it, I would feel so comfortable here.
“The moment I started to feel good at 20 kilometres, I felt so good. Then I knew I wanted gold. But everybody else was fresh and all I was thinking was, ‘When are they going to break? They’re going to go hard, they’re going to go hard.’”
Hassan beat out Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in a sprint to the finish to take the remarkable gold.
Hassan was the first runner to attempt the three distances at the Olympics in 40 years.
Czech runner Emil Zátopek is the only athlete to medal in all three events at the same Olympics, taking triple gold in 1952.
Three years ago in Tokyo, Hassan won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 and bronze in the 1,500.
“She is amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. She’s just awesome,” Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, who finished fourth, said. “Who can do that? Who can come from track and win the marathon?
“I feel like I just want to be her.”
Canada’s Malindi Elmore finished 35th in the marathon
