“Learned a Lesson”: Sifan Hassan Makes Honest Confession After Huge Milestone at Sydney Marathon

Last year at the Paris Olympics, representing the Netherlands, Sifan Hassan made history by claiming one gold and two bronze medals, firmly etching her name in the annals of athletics. At the Tokyo Olympics prior, she had already dazzled the world with gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events. A true titan of distance running, Hassan continues to dominate in 2025, with the Sydney Marathon now firmly in her grasp. However, the distance to greatness was never easy, as she openly describes the pain and struggle behind her triumphs.

Opting out of the World Championships for the first time since 2015, Sifan Hassan set her sights on new marathon challenges. After finishing third at the London Marathon with a time of 2:19:00, trailing Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who set a women-only world record of 2:15:50, Hassan turned her focus to the Island-Continent for the Sydney Marathon. With a clear intention to win, she delivered spectacularly, crossing the finish line first with a time of 2:18:22. Close on her heels was Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, finishing just behind in 2:18:56.Last year’s winner Workenesh Edesa was third in 2:22:15.

Both Hassan and Kosgei became the first women to break 2:20 on Australian soil. Talking about her struggle, Hassan explained that she nearly pushed as hard as she did back in Paris, “I pushed so hard in the Paris; I thought, ‘I’m tired.” I have never been this tired. Most of the time, I feel hard in the Paris 5K.”  There’s a stark difference between running 5,000m, 10,000m, and running a marathon as long as the Sydney Marathon, especially in its tropical weather.

She further explained that she might have pushed a bit too hard early on, which nearly exhausted her in the middle, and that she learned her lesson: “I was so dead the last 10 kilometers. I just killed myself. I started too hard, and I learned my lesson … This is the hardest race I’ve won without drama. I learn a great lesson every time.” Hassan clocked an electrifying pace, averaging 3:08 per kilometer, a personal best for her, which might catapult her into the all-time top three.“I’m the first to win and I’m so grateful,” Hassan said, expressing her happiness.

Sifan Hassan, now, is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world of Athletics, but her journey did not begin on a race track. It began with a completely different dream: joining the healthcare industry.

Did Sifan Hassan want to become a nurse?

Long before Sifaan Hassan became associated with Olympic medals and World Championships, she was just an asylum-seeker in a completely new country, with a sole purpose being: Survival. Born in Ethiopia, Sifan left home as a 15-year-old and came to the Netherlands as a refugee in 2008, with the sole purpose of finding some stability. And that led her to ROC Eindhoven, a vocational school, with one goal in mind: to care for others by becoming a nurse.

So, how did she end up on the track? By luck or fate. Whatever you want to call it. While living in Eindhoven, Sifan used to spend a lot of her time with her fellow Ethiopians, many of whom were part of local athletic clubs. So, one fine day, at a friend’s insistence, Sifan joins them for a 1000m dash. And that became her life’s sliding door moment. The club officials witnessed her raw talent and decided to train her.

Ad Peeters, President of the coaching team at Eindhoven Atletiek, reminisced about that moment, saying, “We immediately saw she was a talented athlete. Even a blind horse could see she would be a good runner.” The club not only provided her with the necessary training, but they also supported her beyond the race track, helping her navigate life in a new country as a teenage asylum seeker. “We made sure she did not do the wrong things, neither in training nor in her personal life. We kept her safe, picked her up by car to go to training, took her to competitions,” Peeters recalled.

From dreaming of becoming a nurse to being an Olympic medalist, Sifan Hassan’s journey is one of grit, determination, and survival. Now, again, there is just one thing on her mind: Thriving.