This is Olivia Miller’s story for day 11, on which the final event was the women’s marathon, which was a spectacular event. Held on a course that ran from the near center of Paris to Versailles and back, with a mile-long hill, a difficult downhill, and a 600m uphill with a 10 percent grade, the race came down to a final 195 meters, and Oliva tells the story below:
Hassan Grabs Third Medal at Paris Olympics with Women’s Marathon Victory, by Olivia Miller
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa and the Netherlands’s Sifan Hassan were shoulder-to-shoulder as they approached the last 200m of the women’s marathon. After trading elbows, it was Hassan who was able to pull away, just a few strides ahead of Assefa. Hassan moved cautiously, looking back to feel where the Ethiopian runner was in relation to her in an all-out battle for gold. In the end, it was Hassan, in the brightly colored orange uniform of the Netherlands, who crossed the finish line first. She celebrated, collapsing to the ground, taking it all in under the hot Paris sun.
Hassan said this marathon felt different.
“When I finished, the whole moment was a release. It is unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like that. Even the other marathons I have run were not close to this.
She finished in 2:22.55, breaking the previous Olympic record that was set by Tiki Gelana in London.
She admitted it didn’t feel real.
“I feel like I am dreaming. I only see people on the TV who are Olympic champions. The marathon is something else, you know. When you do 42 kilometers in more than two hours and 20 minutes, then every single step you feel (is) so hard and so painful.
Asseyfa was just seconds behind Hassan with 2:22.58. Hellen Obiri of Kenya took third crossing the line at 2:23.10. Defending Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir finished in 15th after beginning to fade at the 35km mark.
This was Hassan’s third race of the Paris Olympics, having competed and earning bronze in both the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m which took place Aug 9, giving her just under two days to recover.
Hassan said that during the race, she was regretting her choice to run all three events.
“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.”
This is Hassan’s sixth Olympic medal. Her gold in the marathon makes her the only woman to have won an Olympic gold medal in all three distance races, the 5,000m, 10,000m and Marathon.
