Sifan Hassan is the winner of everything! Today, she claimed the women’s marathon gold at the Paris Olympics, breaking the Olympic record. And let’s not forget the scorching heat she had to endure to achieve this! Just two days ago, the Dutch runner earned a bronze medal in the women’s 10,000m event, and on August 5, she secured another bronze in the women’s 5000m final. This makes her the only female athlete to claim three track and field medals at a single Olympics and the first athlete since the 1952 Olympics to achieve such glory. The Dutch Prime Minister congratulated her with a hug for this extraordinary accomplishment. But wait, Sifan Hassan isn’t satisfied with her achievement!

In her post-match conversation, Sifan said, “I have no words. Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today.” Notably, three years ago, the 31-year-old ran in both 5000m and 10,000m events and took the gold medals home. During that time, her third event was the women’s 1500m, in which she secured the bronze medal. Yet the prime difference is that this time she had to run for a whopping 38 miles in total—just 4 miles shorter than the old marathon—to get her three medals. The route and the weather would come into the discussion. 

This time, the host had included several historical places in the Olympic marathon route. But in the meantime, the same route posed a mountainous challenge for the runners because of the gradient in height. Yesterday, two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge had to surrender to the physical pain that had been elevated by the constraints on the routes. Extending the pain, the weather never stood to be friendly. In fact, today it hit the ceiling of 76 degrees, and the top runners still had to cover a 5-kilometer distance. But Sifan Hassan did not put any sign of weariness on her face. 

Today, she used the headband to keep her forehead cool. Yet let me remind you: yesterday, Kipchoge used the same gear. Still, he had to scratch out of the race after falling under the weather. Sifan Hassan could take pride in having made a few stops today at the liquid station to take water bottles. So that shows how determined she was to finish the contest on the winning side. But she can take relief that several athletes found the event, taking tests on their abilities. 

Sifan Hassan is not the only one to feel the heat

Yesterday, Eliud Kipchoge had to give in after completing 12 km in the marathon. But today, Sinead Diver and Chelimo Joan Molly looked to be harassed by the complications. The former had to bow out of the race because of the cramps in both of her quadriceps, while the latter felt it was hard to continue. Even the former Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, could be seen running with ice packs and a water bottle in her hands. That may have affected the pace. But hardly anyone could say that she had been away from feeling the heat. 

Nonetheless, Sifan Hassan managed things smartly. Just when around 4 km of distance remained on the cards, she was seen taking sips from a water bottle while running. Later, she used her trademark kick to gain extra speed and left world record holder Tigst Aseefa behind in a one-to-one contest. Therefore, she has justified reasons to speak about the issues she has faced. In history, she will remain the runner who defied every hurdle.