London Marathon winner Sifan Hassan admits she was 'born for the drama' after stopping TWICE and almost dropping out of the race - before pulling off a miraculous recovery to win the event for the first time
- last year
That the madness should result in the Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete winning the race defied all logic. Even London Marathon boss Hugh Brasher described her run as ‘almost unfathomable’.
It was at that stage that Hassan was holding her left hip and twice stopped on the road to stretch off. She was 20 seconds behind the front group, with former winner Paula Radcliffe saying on commentary: ‘Somebody needs to give her some advice to step off and stop trying to run on.’
Yet run on she did. And by mile 19, the 30-year-old had incredibly caught up with the leaders. The fun and games, though, were not over.
With just over a mile to go, she misjudged the last drinks station and suddenly veered from one side of the road to the other to collect her bottle, narrowly avoiding a support motorbike and losing valuable seconds.
‘I didn’t even believe it was the finish line,’ admitted Hassan. ‘I didn’t sprint 100 percent in case there was a kilometer to go.
‘I never thought I would finish a marathon and here I am winning it. It was amazing. This morning I was telling myself how stupid I was to run the marathon. What was wrong with me?
‘I had a problem with my hip. I was supposed to tape it but I forgot. The injury hurt when I sped up or when I was going downhill. I thought I was going to stop.
‘It started to feel a little better and then I missed one of the drinks stations. I didn't practice that part of the race because I have been fasting for Ramadan. I will never forget this in my whole life.’
It was at that stage that Hassan was holding her left hip and twice stopped on the road to stretch off. She was 20 seconds behind the front group, with former winner Paula Radcliffe saying on commentary: ‘Somebody needs to give her some advice to step off and stop trying to run on.’
Yet run on she did. And by mile 19, the 30-year-old had incredibly caught up with the leaders. The fun and games, though, were not over.
With just over a mile to go, she misjudged the last drinks station and suddenly veered from one side of the road to the other to collect her bottle, narrowly avoiding a support motorbike and losing valuable seconds.
‘I didn’t even believe it was the finish line,’ admitted Hassan. ‘I didn’t sprint 100 percent in case there was a kilometer to go.
‘I never thought I would finish a marathon and here I am winning it. It was amazing. This morning I was telling myself how stupid I was to run the marathon. What was wrong with me?
‘I had a problem with my hip. I was supposed to tape it but I forgot. The injury hurt when I sped up or when I was going downhill. I thought I was going to stop.
‘It started to feel a little better and then I missed one of the drinks stations. I didn't practice that part of the race because I have been fasting for Ramadan. I will never forget this in my whole life.’