Sifan Hassan Returns to London Marathon, Eyes World Record After Memorable 2023 Victory

Sifan Hassan Returns to London Marathon, Eyes World Record

Two years after her memorable London Marathon victory, Sifan Hassan is back and ready to conquer the streets of London once again. The Dutch multi-distance phenomenon, who also won the Olympic marathon in Paris last August, is excited to see what she can achieve in this year's race.

I'm going to do the marathon there."

Despite her initial fear of the marathon, Hassan is now eager to embrace the challenge and enjoy the experience. "I was so scared of the marathon," she admitted. "Am I not going to finish? Is it going to hurt? Oh, my God, what's going to happen? Are people going to say that I made a big mistake? So, I didn't really enjoy that much the (2023) marathon in London. This time I really want to go and enjoy it."

Joining Hassan on the starting line will be Paris men's marathon champion Tamirat Tola, who will be aiming for his first London victory. Paralympic marathon gold medallists Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug will lead the women's and men's wheelchair fields, respectively.

After her Paris marathon victory, Hassan took a well-deserved break, stepping away from running for almost four months. "I was totally out of running, I really had a great, amazing recovery," she said. "I wanted to show my friends and family that I had been busy for my work, but you guys are important to me."

Now fully refreshed, Hassan has no plans to slow down. "I have so much curiosity, I have so many goals in my head, I want to see what can I do," she said.

One of her goals is to focus solely on the marathon for a season sometime before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with a target of running four major marathons that year. She also believes the world marathon record is within reach, despite Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich's incredible feat of breaking the record by nearly two minutes at the Chicago Marathon in October.

"Her result is unbelievable," Hassan said. "No one thought a female would run that time, maybe in the future. She wasn't in Paris with us. Also, last time I think she ran 2:15."

"So, I look at back at it now, incredible, fantastic what she did," she said. "It might be a matter of time. So if I train correctly, maybe take me two years to get there, first be in 2:11 shape, and then 2:10, and then run that time. But it is possible."

With her unwavering determination and incredible talent, Sifan Hassan is poised to make history once again at the London Marathon.