Sifan Hassan has opened up on the mistake she made that cost her Paris Olympic 10,000m gold to Beatruce Chebet which fueled her into making amends in the marathon.
Reigning Olympic marathon champion Sifan Hassan has admitted to a tactical mistake that cost her gold in the 10,000 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics, allowing Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet to claim victory.
Heading into Paris 2024, Hassan had set her sights on making history as the first woman to medal in four different running events at a single Olympics.
She entered the 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, and the women’s marathon, but later made the critical decision to withdraw from the 1500m to focus on the longer races.
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Despite aiming to defend her 5000m and 10,000m titles from Tokyo 2021, she had to settle for bronze in both, losing both times to Beatrice Chebet. She also finished behind Faith Kipyegon, who secured silver in the 5000m. However, Hassan triumphed in the marathon, clocking a Games record of 2:22:55.
Hassan later revealed that her decision to drop the 1500m was not just about scheduling conflicts but also due to health concerns.
After competing at the Hungelo track meet just weeks before the Olympics, she experienced abnormal heart palpitations, a result of burnout from overtraining. This forced her to take a two-week break, allowing her to focus solely on the 5000m, 10,000m, and marathon.
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Hassan intended to try and win a quadruple of medals at the Paris Olympics, including the 1500 meters, but ‘very bad’ event scheduling at the Games forced her to withdraw from the event.
Despite being the defending champion in both track events, she was content with her 5000m bronze, considering the challenges she had faced.
“They wanted me to announce which race I was dropping, but I decided, ‘Let me first race the 5K, I’m not going to tell before that,’” Hassan told Citius Mag.
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“I jumped into the 5K and got the medal. Even while racing, I was thinking about the marathon. ‘Is this marathon pace?’ And actually, I felt in good shape.”
While Hassan executed a brilliantly timed kick in the marathon, she admitted she made a crucial mistake in the 10,000m final, delaying her sprint for too long. By the time she reacted, Chebet had already created an insurmountable gap.
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“In the marathon, I waited until the last 200 meters to sprint and won a medal. I almost caught all of them in the 5000m, and I was so happy with that medal given my problems. That’s when I decided not to do the 1500m because I saw potential in the marathon.”
“I really did not care about the 10K. I was like, ‘I’m good, I’ll focus on the marathon.’ But in the 10K, I felt like I was running the 5K. I waited too long—I should have kicked in the last 400 meters. I was so mad at myself because I was thinking too much about the marathon.”
Hassan acknowledged that her frustration over the 10,000m mistake fueled her determination to run a flawless marathon race just days later.
“Can you imagine running the 10K at the Olympics and thinking, ‘This is a marathon race. I have to save energy and wait until the last 100m’? I tried sprinting in the last 100 meters, but it was too late. I hated myself. I was so angry at myself.”
“But that frustration was good because it made me better in the marathon. For two hours, I used my brain more than my legs. I told myself, ‘I don’t care if I finish fifth or second, but I will not make a mistake. I will do everything correctly and then see what happens.'”
In the end, Hassan’s mental recalibration and race intelligence helped her clinch marathon gold, reinforcing her reputation as one of the most versatile and resilient distance runners in Olympic history.
